Karen is a suburb of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, lying south-west of Nairobi central business district. The suburb of Karen borders the Ngong Forest and is home to the

Ngong Racecourse Ngong Racecourse is a racecourse in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the main and currently only thoroughbred racing venue in Kenya. It is located along the Ngong Road near the Lenana School and next to The Nairobi Business Park, beside ngong forest. It is o ...

. Karen and

Langata Lang'ata is a predominantly middle-class residential suburb of Nairobi in Kenya. The suburb consists of many smaller housing developments, referred to as estates. They include Nairobi Dam, Otiende, Southlands, Ngei, Jambo estate, Onyonka, Mad ...

jointly form a somewhat isolated area of mid to high-income residents.

History

Karen was previously within Ngong County. After

received city status in 1950 the counties were redefined. In 1963 Karen was placed under the Nairobi City Council's administration.De Lame, p
177
"Karen was earlier an integral part of Ngong County. Nairobi acquired the status of City in 1950, which led to a redefinition of the counties, and in 1962, Karen was placed under the administration of the City Council." It is generally considered that the suburb is named after

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

, the Danish author of the colonial memoir ''

Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the seventeen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called British East Africa. The book is a lyrical meditation on ...

''; her farm occupied the land where the suburb now stands. Blixen declared this in her later writings that "the residential district of Karen" was "named after me," although it has never been formally recognised. Blixen's home has since become a museum and is still standing and is a local tourist attraction, other tourist attractions are the giraffe center, the exclusive giraffe manor and the ololua nature trails.

Cityscape

Karen is a vibrant residential suburb characterized by big mansions, many trees, tranquil atmosphere, and plush gardens this is due to the areas minimum acreage requirement for all homeowners.De Lame, p
176
Karen is also a center for many upscale restaurants and hotels in the city, offering cuisines from around the country and the world. There is a branch of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

in Karen.

Government

The Karengata Association manages Karen and

. It was organized in 1940 and by 2010 it had begun to manage the area's

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

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 The is a Japanese school located in the Lang'ata area of Nairobi, Kenya, in proximity to Karen. The school serves Japanese expatriate students. History The school was founded on 9 May 1970 ( Shōwa 45), with its first campus in Hurlingham. The ...

is located in the Lang'ata area, in proximity to Karen.image1.jpg
"
Archive

. Retrieved on August 27, 2013.

Notable residents

* Ellinor Catherine Cunningham van Someren (1915–1988), entomologist * Gurner Robert Cunningham van Someren, ornithologist

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. , 9789987080939. The source edition is an English translation, published b
Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd.
of

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

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. , 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).