Urban Development

In a series of discussion papers, partners of the Heinrich Böll Foundation give thought-provoking suggestions to the Lagos State government for an inclusive and climate-resilient city building, which are based on the findings from our research “Urban Planning Processes in Lagos”.

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.

In the current discourse of possibilities for ‘African Urban Futures’, Lagos city is amongst the most highly contested.  The preferred imagined future of Lagos is one which fronts a global, modern city, envisioned and realized through developments such as ‘Eko Atlantic’[1]. However, there are implacable realities which exist alongside grand ‘Africa Rising’ narratives, and instead necessitate the provision of basic services and infrastructure.

A modern city is a centre of opportunities for all – rich and poor – to reach their highest potentials, that is governed in an inclusive, collaborative and sustainable manner. Prof. Taibat Lawanson from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Dr. Ademola Omoegun from the Department of Architecture, University of Lagos aimed at understanding how affected people cope with the effects of government interventions for replacing informality with formal structures and how Lagos fares in embracing creative and innovative strategies of inclusive development initiated and implemented by the affected people.

Lagos State government increasingly ventures into Public Private Partnerships to provide infrastructure in forms of roads, waste management, water supply; even complete residential and commercial “city” projects are outsourced. A very controversial development is the rebuilding of open markets by private developers disrupting decade old economic and social patterns in the informal sector

Market women and informal traders in Lagos contribute massively to the urban economy of the city; through payment of various taxes and levies but also through sustaining transport, construction, food and other sectors, even in times of deep recession. They contribute their share to the internally generated revenue and therefore should expect in return social services in form of local infrastructure, access to low interest credit etc.

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.

Lagos is a city relying heavily on road use by private cars and public buses.  With the growth of population, inadequate maintenance of the road network, badly maintained cars, insufficient public transport planning, and weak policies on pollution & climate change, roads are congested and pollution is on the rise. It is therefore timely to explore possibilities for introducing cycling as a sustainable non-motorized transportation mode for Lagos which also enhances mobility for the urban poor and increases interaction among nearly all groups. Just like investing in an efficient public transport system, investing in cycling entails social, economic and environmental benefits for cities.

The publication “Open City Lagos”, a cooperation with Nsibidi Institute Lagos and Fabulous Urban Zurich, intends to initiate a public reflection and discourse on the characteristics of an “open city” where the co-existence of different social groups and the richness of cultural diversity come together to foster growth that is diverse, equitable, creative, sustainable and inclusive.

The Eko Atlantic project is portrayed by Lagos State Government and developers as a model of sustainability, climate change adaptation and economic growth. However, reconciling plans for economic development and environmental protection with the aim of achieving social justice for all requires more open debate and participatory planning.

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