Nakuru town is located 160 km North west of Nairobi and is the fourth largest urban centre in Kenya after Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. It is situated at an altitude of 1859m above the sea level and it is within the region of the Great Rift Valley whose formation gave rise to a unique natural structure. The town started as a railway station on Kenyan-Uganda railway at the turn of this century. The name ‘Nakuru’ is derived from Nakurro, the Maasai word meaning a ‘dusty place’. The town is located in an environmentally sensitive area. It is sandwiched between Lake Nakuru National Park to the south and the Menengai crater and its associated volcanic landscapes. Further to the North East of the town is the Bahati Escarpment forming the western fridge of the Aberdares Escarpment.

From a population of 38,181 in 1962, the population reached 163,927 in 1989. Nowadays, Nakuru is the fourth largest town in Kenya (after Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu), with a 1999 population of 289,385(GOK, 2000). By the year 2015, the population is projected to rise to 760,000, which is approximately 50% above the present levels. The population growth has been influenced by the birth rates, rural-urban migration and boundary extensions.

There is rapid ‘urban’ development at the periphery of the town because many people take refuge in those areas as a result of shortage of housing in the town centre. Most of these settlements take place in areas expropriated from agricultural uses by use of subdivision plans. This makes planning complex, especially as residents ‘demand’ inclusion in the municipal boundaries and they benefit from urban services, which are being overstretched beyond their limits. Majority of the population live in unplanned settlements that are not served with municipal services and the quality of the environment in these neighbourhoods has been falling.