# Karen, Kenya

Karen is a suburb of Nairobi in Kenya, lying south-west of Nairobi's central business district. The suburb of Karen borders the Ngong Forest and is home to the Ngong Racecourse. Karen and Langata previously formed a somewhat isolated area of mid to high-income residents, but the two suburbs have become increasingly interconnected and linked to the rest of Nairobi through the expansion of the eponymous Langata Road and Ngong Road, the latter project completed in 2021.

## History

Karen was previously in Ngong County. After Nairobi received city status in 1950 the counties were redefined. In 1963 Karen was placed under the Nairobi City Council's administration.
It is generally considered that the suburb is named after Karen Blixen, the Danish author of the colonial memoir Out of Africa; her farm occupied the land where the suburb now stands. Blixen declared in her later writings that "the residential district of Karen" was "named after me," although it has never been formally recognised.
Blixen's home is still standing and forms the centerpiece of the Karen Blixen Museum, a key local tourist attraction. Other tourist attractions are the AFEW Giraffe Center, the exclusive Giraffe Manor, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage, and the Oloolua Forest nature trails.
On 1 September 2017 the first interreligious conference of the DIMMID in Africa took place at the Subiaco Center of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing.

## Cityscape

Karen is a vibrant residential suburb characterized by big mansions, many trees, a tranquil atmosphere, and plush gardens this is due to the areas minimum acreage requirement for all homeowners. Karen is also home to an increasing number upscale restaurants, hotels, and malls such as The Hub and The Waterfront. There is a branch of the Red Cross in Karen.

## Government

The Karengata Association manages Karen and Langata. It was organized in 1940 and by 2010 it had begun to manage the area's infrastructure.

## Demographics

Karen is mainly populated by the wealthier demographic of Kenyans, as well as the political class.

## Education

The West Nairobi School is located in Karen. The current campus opened in 2000.
The Nairobi Japanese School is located in the Lang'ata area, in proximity to Karen.

## Notable residents

* Ellinor Catherine Cunningham van Someren (1915–1988), entomologist
* Gurner Robert Cunningham van Someren, ornithologist
* Jan Bonde Nielsen, oil tycoon

## General references

* De Lame, Danielle. "Grey Nairobi: Sketches of Urban Socialities." In: Charton-Bigot, Hélène and Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres (editors). Nairobi Today: The Paradox of a Fragmented City. African Books Collective, 2010. p. 167-214. ISBN 9987080936, 9789987080939. The source edition is an English translation, published by Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd. of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in association with the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA) of Nairobi. The book was originally published in French as Nairobi contemporain: Les paradoxes d'une ville fragmentée, Karthala Editions (Hommes et sociétés, ISSN 0993-4294). French version article: "Gris Nairobi: Esquisses de sociabilités urbaines." p. 221-284. ISBN 2845867875, 9782845867871.
** Includes a section on Karen and Langata, titled "Karen and Langata: Gardens and Suburbs", p. 174-179 (In French: "Karen et Langata, jardins et faubourgs", p. 231-237).