THE TYPOLOGY OF PUBLIC OPEN SPACES: CLASSIFICATION AND CHALLENGES FROM MACHAKOS MUNICIPALITY, MACHAKOS COUNTY, KENYA

Public open spaces form an important part of life, giving services to people and protecting the urban environment. Ineffective standards for establishment, of public open spaces have always been a stumbling block in ensuring their sustainability, hence the existence of non performing unplanned, and poorly distributed public open spaces. This study sought to establish the types of public open spaces in Machakos municipality, Machakos County. The study aimed to characterize the typologies of public open spaces in order to understand the underlying reasons for how they came to be. Primary and secondary data sources were used to get the information. Primary data gathered using questionnaires, interview schedules, observation schedules and photographs. Secondary data on the other hand was gathered through review of existing literature materials and documentations of public open spaces from the county government blueprints and policy documents. . The findings revealed that there are a number of public open spaces in Machakos Municipality, with Machakos


ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 8 (12), 241-255 243 Theoretical framework Political economy theory Political economy theory is explained is a government's involvement in dealing with the economic needs of the community. It posits that the formulation of a governments economic program, be it free market, command or mixed, determines the way resources, in our case, type of open spaces is availed and shared. Inequitable sharing or entitlement to open space resources will result as a burden created by social and political customs ( Weaver, 1996).
Dimitris and Ben (2009) observes, and rightly so, that the increase of unplanned dwellings in Africa is as a result of poorly managed urban environments. This has a genesis from poor funding by the relevant governmental institutions. They further indicate that to get to the root of this failure is pivotal in explaining the slum situation in Africa. In such a situation, it is not difficult to see why open spaces will be appropriated for use, uses that are individualized and seen primarily from economic lenses.
The story even gets more complicated. The slow pace and poor urban development in many Africa countries are also be attributed to influential individuals' whose nuanced political and economic interests, and which are fueled by the coincidental emergence of anti-urbanization preferences, behind who are foreign entities and organizations (Caporaso and Levine, 1992). Locally, the loss of open spaces in Kenya can are as a result of political and social needs and greed by the elite who , wrongly, appropriate these spaces, in part or as a whole, for primarily financial gains as the government remains silent.

Study Area
The study was carried out in Machakos municipality, Machakos County. The municipality coordinates are as follows: latitude 1° 29´ 59″South, longitudes 39° 14´ 60″ East with the altitude at 1138m above sea level ( Figure 1). The size is 925.

Climatic Conditions Rainfall and Temperature
The climatic conditions of the study area are semi-arid, with monthly temperature ranging from 12.2ºC between the coldest month of July and August to 25.1ºC between the hottest month of October and March and a total annual rainfall ranging between 400 mm and 800 mm. Depending on altitude and aspect, mean rainfall and temperature vary widely. The average rainfall is between 500 mm and 1300 mm, with short rains falling in October and December while the long rains fall in March to May. Temperature-wise, July is the coldest month with October and March being the warmest. Since the Municipality does not experience rain throughout the year it then means that there are months that experience dry spells. These months are mainly February to March and August to September. This means that there is need for installation of water points or irrigation network for watering plant materials in the public open spaces. Shading is also necessary when the sun is hot.

Vegetation
Vegetation in the area is mainly drought resistant, consisting of mainly semi-arid acacia and thorn bushes. The vegetation mainly consists of Acacia's and other thorn bushes such as Terminalia combretum (Borst & Haas, 2006). The settled and agricultural active areas have exotic trees such as blue gum and gravella. Forestland covers less than 18ha, serving mainly as water catchment areas within the area and this has been affected by urban development (mainly housing) Most of the hills that used to be forested have been cleared for agriculture purpose and charcoal burning which has resulted in large areas of bare land, which are more vulnerable to erosion. The plant materials for the public open spaces should be selected carefully to ensure sustainability and low cost of maintenance. They should be adaptive to the climate.

Geology and soils
The soils are well drained with black cotton soils covering particularly the Municipality system in the town and the Municipality as a whole consists of intensely folded Basement Rocks of gneiss and schist which include limestone, amphibolites and quartzites as well as the predominating biotie granitoid gneisses (Howard Humphreys, 2009). The eastern part of the municipality has sand, murram and lateritic soils which overlay the folded basement rocks while the Western part of the Municipality has phonolite rocks consisting of lava of Miocene and most part of this area is covered with black cotton soil. Due to the presence of black cotton soils, there is need for careful selection of plant materials that do well under this, and also make sure that there is enough manure to enrich the soil. In worst situation, red soil should be imported to support healthy vegetation.

Research Methodology:-
A survey study design was employed to help collect data and establish the types of public open spaces in Machakos town. Mulusa (1990), asserts that 10-30% of the total population is sufficient sample. However, to determine the sample size, the formula below ( Nassiuma, 2000). NC V 2 n= (C V 2 + (N-1) e 2 ) Where n= Sample size N= Population Cv = Coefficient of variation (take 0.5) e= Tolerance of desired level of confidence, take 0.05% at 95% confidence level Since Machakos municipality has a population of 199,211 as per 2009 national housing and population census, the formula was applied as follows: 246 n = 199,211 (0.5) 2 = 100 respondents.
Primary and secondary data sources were used as follows: The primary data was derived from the opinions issued by the three main public open space participants which include the users, management and the regulatory organs (Zube, 1986). They included various public open space visitors like residents, institutional and key informants within Machakos County physical planning, lands and the tourism and parks management department. Both Qualitative data and quantitative information was gathered through structured questionnaires, interview schedule and direct observations. The above data was

Sample frame
The study sample frame entailed park users, park management and regulatory arms of the county government of Machakos. It also involved the Public open spaces themselves. The park users were further subjected to simple random sampling as outlined in Table 1, the park management and regulatory arms to Purposive Sampling while the public open spaces were further subjected to Stratified Random Sampling as outlined in table 1.   The Machakos People's Park Majority of the respondents, 85%, mentioned Machakos Peoples park as one of the key and known public open spaces found in Machakos town Municipality. Part of the reasons that it is known is due to the diversity of a wider number of landscape features within it. The size of the park as well as the way in which it is managed are additional reasons as to why it is known by many of the residents. It was further rated very good in terms of general status of cleanliness by 26% of the respondents, good by 64% and only poor by 10%. The 10% poor rating is associated with a primary challenge, access. Residents felt that the park was far away from the town centre ( figure 4). 248

The park is accessed by a tarmacked road (Plate 1).
The park is used for both active and passive recreation ie jogging, children play and relaxation respectively. A number of landscape features which include good expansive lawns, trees and flowers and water fountains, children's play area, and miniature golf, restaurants, and solar exhibition stand and conference facilities dot the facility. Political rallies are frequently staged at this facility. In addition religious gatherings find an appropriate home at this venue. Not to forget music concerts and entertainment of artists who find the park ideal for both day and night performances. 250

Machakos Stadium
Many respondents (79%) mentioned this as one of the public open spaces that exist in Machakos Town Municipality (Plate 4). Its popularity is due to its proximity to the town centre making it easily accessible. Its largeness enables it to accommodate many users. The well-manicured turf for sports is aesthetically pleasing making it an attraction to behold. These two additional reasons further explain why the park is known. Local, national and international soccer matches are frequently held in this stadium. Another usually must attend sports bonanza is the Masaku Sevens, a rugby duel that brings many fans into the town in general, and into the stadium In particular. The stadium is therefore known well beyond Machakos Municipality. Other uses include athletics, political and religious rallies. However, since it is located near some residential areas and a school, the stadium is a source of noise when in use. An entry fee is payable to the authorities before one accesses the stadium and this hinders some open space users from easily utilizing it.

Mulu Mutisya Gardens
A large number of the respondents (85%) mentioned. Mulu Mutisya Gardens, as one of the public open spaces, is within in Machakos Town Municipality ( Figure 5). Its strategic position within the town centre makes it easily accessible, hence its popularity (Plate5). It is characterized by garden seats, trees for shade and for relaxation. It is busier during the weekends and popular for staging political and religious rallies. The name of the park derives from a legendary Kamba leader who inspired the community to take leadership and participate in governance at the national level. It gets muddy during the rainy season due to poor lawn cover. It was rated good by 38% of the park users, very good by 31%, while 31% rated it poor. The close trend in rating percentages could be due to few merits accompanied by demerits like limited landscape features, poor maintenance and its small size. However, the garden is faced by a number of challenges. There is poor lighting especially at night making it unsafe. There is poor solid and liquid waste management. Cars park haphazardly endangering the park users.
251 The T-Tot parking lot A fairly large number of the respondents (70%) mentioned it as one of the public open spaces that exist in Machakos Town Municipality. It is popular because of its central location, at the heart of the town. Its large size also explains its popularity allowing for diverse activities therein It is used as parkin area for cars (Plate 7). The park is maintained and managed by the county government of machakos. Since it is the main parking lot in the town, it inevitably faces challenges of poor solid and liquid waste management , insufficient seats and poor lighting. Trees for shade are also insufficient for the benefit of the pedestrians. The few seats found are dusty, not well designed antrhopomorphically and ergonoimcally, thereby beating the purpose for whch they are placed in the park, seating. These public open spaces are mainly used for relaxation, meetings, physical exercise and are aesthetically appealing. The spaces are mainly used during weekends that is Saturdays and Sundays.

Conclusion:-
Public open spaces are important not only for leisure and recreation, but also for economic and political functions. They are key areas for social interaction and community development Machakos town is endowed with a number of these public open spaces. As Aesthetics, social wellbeing and recreational needs of an urban neighborhood or town can be enhanced through a well laid down public open spaces which come as a result of a sustainable planning and improvement of the said public open spaces, which in turn makes the area an attraction for both living and working.

Recommendations Based on Findings:-
1 Creation of a well-articulated landscape master plan by the county planning department that shows the existing and proposed public open spaces easy monitoring and development.