Lagos: An Urban Everest
Around two-thirds of residents of Lagos live in slum conditions. The city epitomises the future challenges facing African cities, on a scale that amplifies the strains of urbanisation. With an estimated population of 21 million, to which 3 000 new migrants are added each day, Lagos represents the promise of economic opportunity and the burden of providing urban infrastructure, especially decent housing, mass transport and adequate electricity. In this discussion paper by the
Brenthurst Foundation, Nchimunya Hamukoma, Nicola Doyle, Sarah Calburn and Dickie Davis provide insight into how Lagos functions, the challenges it faces across the sectors of governance, economic growth, housing, and infrastructure; and how policymakers have tried, and at times failed, to address them. Lacking formal systems Lagosians tend to create informal substitutes with clear processes and a logic that may be opaque to outsiders but meet the public’s needs, at least in part.
http://www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org/workspace/files/brenthurst-paper-2019-03.pdf
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