Critical Factors for Sustainable Urban Roads Management in Nairobi City County
Abstract:The study at hand investigated the critical factors for sustainable urban roads management in Nairobi City County. Four specific research objectives were used; to evaluate the effect of public participation, organizational structure, public communication and availability of resources on the sustainability of urban road management in Nairobi County. The study used quantitative and qualitative research designs. The target population was all project team members within the County approximated to 952 project team members. Based on Yamane formula, the study used simple random sampling method to sample 282 respondents. Structured questionnaires and unstructured interview guide were used. Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used to analyse data. The study found that public participation, organizational structure, communication and availability of resources were positively and significantly correlated with sustainability of roads management. The study concludes that public participation was important for sustainability of urban roads management as long as they are involved in planning, analysis, implementations and evaluation stages. Study concluded that organizational structure in as far as analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation is concerned is integral in the sustainability of urban roads management. The study concludes that public communication was very instrumental insofar as implementation of urban roads management in the county is concerned. It is concluded that availability of resources, both human, finances and systems was important in achieving the sustainability of urban roads management. The study recommends that all stakeholders should be identified in the planning, analysis, implementation and evaluation stages so that their views are incorporated. The study recommends that existing structure should inculcate both top-down and bottom-up approach that deeply considers junior staff views. It is recommended that public communication should be broad such that analyses of issues that lead to the needs of stakeholders are properly communicated. The study recommends that there should be adequate human and finance resources in the life cycle of projects. The resources needed should be identified before start up of project because such actions help in minimizing additional costs.
Key words:Sustainability, Public Participation, Organizational Structure, Public Communication, Availability of Resources