Makoko

Kelechi Udegbe, a budding Nigerian actor in the city of Lagos, features in this 6 part documentary drama series where he weighs his option of finding a suitable accommodation within his budget, thereby sparking a debate about new ways of accessing affordable accommodation and about the equitability of housing policies of Lagos State.

The approach of the Makoko Neighborhood Hotspot intends to demonstrate that low-tech, flexible, low-cost and strategic yet precise interventions can increase the share of urban consumers and taxpayers which again increases the city’s overall welfare – opposite to the often implemented top-down, investment intensive and heavily donor or elite-driven big-infrastructure solutions as they have mostly failed in (West-) Africa.

On December 12, 2015, the Makoko/Iwaya Waterfront Community celebrated the opening of the first neighborhood hotspot. The construction was initiated and supervised by Fabulous Urban, a Swiss architect and urban design firm, with funds from the Swiss Embassy Nigeria. Townplanner Aro Ismaila and Architect Mo Ajala completed the expert team and the community carpenters and artisans built the centre between April and September 2015.

In an effort at expanding the space for discussions on sustainable urban development in Lagos with specific interest on how the new development in Eko Atlantic City can be made to live up to its description as a city of the future, architect and writer Ayodele Arigbabu has created a narrative located in a fictionalized version of the new city, using the experiences of a young girl visiting the city on holiday as an opportunity to learn about the challenges cities face and possible ways of making cities more livable.

Kunle Adeyemi, a Nigerian architect based in Amsterdam, was equally fascinated by the way of living of the Makoko community. He argues that Makoko and other water communities embody a unique synthesis of socio-political relations, economic networks, architecture and spatial presence that collectively push at the frontiers of urbanism. The “Floating School” which he developed and built in collaboration with the community opened an international debate on visionary forms of architecture to adapt to the challenges of flood and population growth

Floods, storms and ocean surges are becoming more frequent in the megacity of Lagos, but the 15 million citizens have no adequate climate change adaptation and emergency measures in place. The project “Mobilising Local Governments for Climate Action” by Community Conservation and Development Initiatives (CCDI) encourages local governments to develop the necessary adaptation projects for their specific communities. Although local governments should be in the best position to tailor the appropriate strategies, the project report points at institutional, technical and financial shortcomings which currently hinder efficient implementation.