lagos case study

state the location of Lagos

• south coast of Nigeria

• West Africa

describe the population of Lagos

• 15 million

• growing at 4% per year

• 50% of population is under age of 25

state the percentage of migrants from rural areas to Lagos

40%

describe the regional economic importance of Lagos

• key location for numerous jobs

• e.g. working in ports - >90% of sea port activity in Lagos’ region

describe the wealth of Lagos

• Lagos is more affluent than any other location regionally which means the local government source lots of taxes which are spent on the wider region

• Lagos has >6000 millionaires

describe the economic importance of Lagos to Nigeria

• 25% of Nigeria’s GDP is generated from Lagos

• if Lagos was a country, it would be Africa’s 7th largest economy

describe the influence of Lagos on the key economic contributor of Nigeria

• main economic contributor is crude oil

• crude oil accounts for 14% of Nigeria’s GDP

• and this originates from Lagos

describe the national cultural importance of Lagos

• contains key sights such as

• National Museum of Nigeria

• Christ’s Cathedral

• and Oba Palace

state the key education facilities in Lagos

• University of Lagos

• which is one of Nigeria’s leading institutions

describe Lagos’ historical past

• Lagos was Nigeria’s capital until 1991

• so there still remains lots of businesses and infrastructure since that time

describe the film importance of Lagos

• Lagos is home to Nollywood

• which is Nigeria’s movie industry

• and is the second biggest movie industry globally, after Bollywood

describe the importance of Lagos to African trade

Lagos has one of the largest and busiest ports in Africa

describe the importance of Lagos’ airport

• Murtala Muhammed International Airport serves 7 million+ passengers annually

• it is a major hub for connections between Europe and West Africa

describe the importance of Lagos to ICT

Lagos is the major ICT hub for West Africa

describe Lagos’ city ranking

• beta(-) city

• Lagos is the 15th biggest city by size

• but 100+ cities appear higher than it on the Alpha city rankings

state the daily increase in Lagos’ population

2000 people per day

state the % of people migrating into Lagos from rural areas

40%

describe international migration to Lagos

• LIDCs - e.g. Benin and Togo to slums such as Mokoko

• EDCs/ACs - arrive in richer parts of Lagos like Banana Island

describe the impact of migration on growth in Lagos

• 1950s - Lagos was just on Lagos Island

• in present day, Lagos sprawls 50km+ inland

• widespread slums on periphery of the city

describe the impact of migration on the character of Lagos

• the city is busier, noisier and more polluted

• the city is more globalised (due to arrival of Trans-National Corporations) and it is homogenised in comparison to every other prospering city

• city is more multicultural - this is beneficial for the culture and art of Lagos

describe the culture in wider Lagos

• increasingly modernised and multicultural city

• home to Nollywood - film and music

• tourist sites across the city - e.g. National Museum, Lekki Conservation centre

• beaches - e.g. Oniru beach, found in affluent areas

describe the culture in Makoko slums

• exist on the edge of the Lagoon

• culture set up along more traditional lines - local chiefs (Baales) have huge importance

• floating churches, fishing, timber works are a big part of life

• children swimming in dirty lagoon

describe ethnicity in wider Lagos

• multicultural in terms of national and international groups

• dominant ethnic group = Yoruba

• there are 250 different ethnic groups

• contains many international citizens, particularly from surrounding LIDCs (e.g. Benin and Togo)

describe ethnicity in the Makoko slums

• founded as a fishing village by the Egun ethnic group

• most migrants from Benin

describe housing in wider Lagos

• large disparity in housing across the city

• two extremes: slums like Makoko vs. Banana Island

• Banana Island: 353 luxury land plots, average house price $2 million for 3 bedroom apartment

describe housing in the Makoko slums

• only 7% of Makoko residents own their house

• the land is owned by one large landowner (Olaiya Family)

• most houses are on stilts over the lagoon

• dangerous fire risk to wooden buildings

describe leisure in wider Lagos

• widespread opportunities

  • Freedom Park - music events

  • Bridge Boys F.C. Football at Agege stadium

  • Funtopia water park

describe leisure in Makoko slums

• more small scale singing and dancing, churches, restaurants

• people go to bars to watch UK Premier League games

describe consumption in wider Lagos

• largest shopping mall with international brands: The Palms

• many luxury shops/restaurants on Lagos Island

• Idumota market (locals) and Lekki market (tourists)

describe consumption in Makoko slums

• floating restaurants, gas stations and supermarkets

• 20% unemployment means low disposable income

explain why there are housing issues in Lagos

• officially only 2,000 homes built per year but 2,000 people move in per day

• lots of ‘illegal’ and unregistered houses constructed

• large swathes of the population can’t afford homes

• increasing appearance of affluent, expensive settlements, especially in Banana Island (Eko Atlantic)

describe the cost of houses in Lagos

• most official houses built are unaffordable to the majority of Lagosians

• Eko Atlantic residences will only be affordable to a rich and international audience

describe the influence of slums in housing availability in Lagos

• extensive slum creation as there is insufficient affordable housing stock

• Makoko houses 250,000 people

describe the influence of housing availability on tenure in Lagos

• majority of people don’t own the land they live on

• only 7% of Makoko residents own their land

  • this means the government is able to bulldoze houses here when they need to develop new areas

  • not owning land means residents aren’t incentivised to improve the region they live (due to constant fear of eviction)

explain why there are transport issues in Lagos

• city has grown very fast

• as an LIDC, it doesn’t have the money to fund big transport infrastructure construction

• large swathes of population can’t afford private transport and rely on walking or public transport

describe the rail system in Lagos

no city rail wide system

describe the road system in Lagos

only 3 bridges from the mainland to Lagos Island

describe traffic issues in Lagos

• Lagos is one of the most polluted cities

• armed robbers steal from stationary cars

• enormous traffic jams, particularly around rush ours due to lack of roads

describe sea trade in Lagos

• Lagos’ ports are overwhelmed by volume of trade

state why there are waste issues in Lagos

• 10,000 tonnes produced per day

• coupled with the rapidly increasing population

explain the type of waste in Lagos

• 12% is plastics

• due to a lack of clean tap water

• city uses 60 million bottles of water per day

describe waste government collections in Lagos

• only collect 40% of rubbish

• remainder is burnt or discarded

describe issues with waste management in Lagos

• death of fish in lagoon due to polluted water ways

  • negative impacts on Makoko’s fishing communities

• 30 landfill sites around the lagoon leach chemicals into the water

  • negative impacts on Makoko residents who use water for cooking and leisure

• discarded rubbish ruins the aesthetics of the surrounding area and dangerous for children to play around

state the new development in Lagos

• Eko Atlantic

• a new financial hub for West Africa

• built on reclaimed land

state the date construction of Eko Atlantic begun

2009

describe the economic sustainability of Eko Atlantic

• POSITIVE

  • will promote Lagos as a financial hub for West Africa

  • enormous amount of job creation in construction (low skilled, short term) and finance (highly educated, long term)

  • success of Eko Atlantic will have trickle down effects and could cause a positive multiplier effect in Lagos

• NEGATIVE

  • houses will be too expensive for majority of Lagosians

describe the social sustainability of Eko Atlantic

• POSITIVE

  • exclusive in nature; likely to cause resentment between social classes due to inequality

• NEGATIVE

  • Eko Atlantic is more likely to be geared towards tourists than locals

describe the environmental sustainability of Eko Atlantic

• POSITIVE

  • sea wall on periphery of the development will protect other parts of Lagos in the future from sea level rising

  • energy efficient buildings are being planned for Eko Atlantic

  • 150,000 trees being planted - increases carbon storage in Lagos

• NEGATIVE

  • development will have significant negative environmental impacts as concrete is being used for the building

    • concrete is one the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide in construction globally

  • reclaimed land has dredged sand from along the coast and ruined local aquatic ecosystem

describe floating houses in Lagos

• a floating school has been built on Lagos’ lagoon as a prototype

• these houses could be rolled out as a wider concept in different forms such as shops

describe the economic sustainability of floating houses in Lagos

• POSITIVE

  • relatively cheap strategy to lack of housing availability

• NEGATIVE

  • the floating houses are only a prototype - the prototype got destroyed in a storm

    • there is not enough funding to make this strategy durable yet

  • would require funding from Makoko residents; who lack sufficient funds for this

describe the social sustainability of floating houses in Lagos

• POSITIVE

  • construction would employ local people and use their skills effectively

  • floating houses would focus on low income areas which are in dire need of affordable housing

  • if the government decides to build in low income areas, mobile houses could move too - this overcomes issues of tenure and owning land

describe the environmental sustainability of floating houses in Lagos

• POSITIVE

  • solar construction of roofs would reduce the carbon footprint of the building

  • floating houses aim to capture and harvest rainwater, providing low income communities with a fresh water source

  • these buildings float so will be able to adapt to rising sea levels in Lagos

• NEGATIVE

  • there would be large scale deforestation in Lagos to provide timber for construction

describe an overview of tempohousing

• recycled shipping contains are being converted

• into modular housing units

• by a small Lagosian firm

describe the economic sustainability of tempohousing

• POSITIVE

  • 30% cheaper than using bricks and concrete

• MIXED

  • each house costs £7000 - this is a cheaper cost than houses in the centre of Lagos but is still unaffordable to lower income Lagosians

• NEGATIVE

  • tempohousing doesn’t last as long as brick/concrete houses

describe the social sustainability of tempohousing

• POSITIVE

  • tempohousing can be built much quicker than normal houses and meets the need for affordable housing quicker

  • a local firm is creating these, which instils a sense of local pride and can enhance the local economy

• NEGATIVE

  • the company building tempohousing is on a small scale and can’t meet regional demand for housing

describe the environmental sustainability of tempohousing

• POSITIVE

  • tempohousing recycles old containers which would otherwise go to landfill

  • nearby ports with disused containers means carbon footprint go moving containers is small