A Kenyan visitor returned to Seattle, nicknamed the "Emerald City," after 20 years, observing its remarkable maturity and comparing it to the rapid, often chaotic changes in Nairobi and Kenya. The experience highlighted stark differences in urban planning, trust, and even simple daily life between a developed city and its Kenyan counterparts.

• The author noted that Seattle and its surroundings showed minimal change over two decades, unlike the significant transformations in Kenya's urban areas.
• Key observations included the lack of passport stamping and bag checks at US immigration, reflecting a high level of trust absent in Kenya.
• The relative scarcity of large advertisements, uniformed police, and security walls in Seattle contrasted sharply with Kenya's urban environments.
• A visit to a Boeing plant underscored the scale of manufacturing, with a single Boeing 777 costing approximately $300 million (Ksh 39 billion).
• The article emphasizes that cities should be managed and made livable, posing a challenge to Kenyan leaders despite frequent benchmarking trips abroad.