Visions of the Venice of Africa

Visions of the Venice of Africa How can Philosophies of Slum Upgrading affect the future of Makoko, Lagos?

Grace Mark Diploma in Architecture Dissertation Glasgow School of Art April 2013

Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to my research tutor, Johnny Rodger for all his help and advice through the whole process of dissertation writing. I am most grateful to my cousins Monica and Katie Mark, for their generosity in providing me with contact details as well as fantastic photographs. In addition I would like to thanks to Noah Shemede for his interview and wonderful insight into Makoko.

Special thanks go to my parents (Edward and Ngozi Mark) and brothers for their unequivocal support and encouragement, particularly David for his proofreading help. Finally thanks my flatmate Frances Heslop for proofreading and my library buddies, for making the process fun.

3

Contents

Pages

3

Acknowledgements Contents

4

Introduction

Slums, the developing world and Lagos the Megacity 7-15

Lagos

Explosive growth, slums and Makoko 17-27

Theory 1

Demolish and rebuild 29-35

Vision of Lagos the Model City

Theory 2

Sites- and- Services 37-43

Provision of basic infrastructure to mitigate flooding

Theory 3

Self- Help

45-73

Makoko an example of urban and economic Sustainability

Conclusion

The future of Makoko, 76-83

Slum of hope or despair?

Bibliography Table of Figures Appendices

85-87 89-93 Phone Interview with Noah Shemede 96-98 Makoko notice of Eviction 99

5

Introduction

Slums, the developing world and Lagos the megacity

7

13.1

Los Angeles

Adapted from Slums of the World

Figure 1.1 Population of the 19 megacities of the world

8

18.1

Mexico City

16.6

New York

12.6

Buenos Aires

17.8

Sao Paolo

10.6

Rio de Janeiro

Delhi

Lagos

12.9 12.3

11

Jakarta

Calcutta Dhaka

Developed countries Developing countries Population in Millions

11.7

Mumbai

18.1

18.1

Karachi

13.4

10.6

Cairo

Metro Manila

10.9

17

Shanghai

10.8

Beijing

Osaka

11

26.4

Tokyo

Introduction

Introduction: Slums, the developing world and Lagos the megacity

Megacities and their changing dynamics are at the centre of the global debate about how we live. The 2010/2011 UN Habitat State of World Cities Report emphasized that “the moment when the world's urban population will come to outnumber those living in rural areas is no longer a forecast but a fact.”1 Today, half the world’s population lives in cities and that figure rapidly continues to grow, creating immense "population corridors"2 that are “merging already huge cities into unprecedented and unbroken urban landscapes.”3 The UN defines a megacity as a continuous urban area with a population of over 10 million people, and only 4 of the 19 mega-cities that currently exist worldwide are from the developed world.4 Thus the situation of mass urban migration is particularly crucial in developing countries. Africa is the continent with the fastest urbanization rate with an annual average urban growth of 4%, which is almost double that of Asia and Latin America. It is expected that its urban population will grow from 37% today to 53% of the total population by 2030.5 High population density and limited resources in developing cities support the rapid growth of slums, which are “growing at twice the speed of the continents exploding cities.”6 The Challenge of Slums, a global report published by the United Nations Human Settlements Program, defines slums by two key issues: “the use of poor construction materials and the legality (or lack thereof) of land occupancy.”7 As larger numbers of Africans move to cities to seek a better life, most end up living in vast informal settlements in what is labelled as the “urbanisation of poverty.”8 Paradoxically though shantytowns are an ever-present issue, they are not often shown on official maps, documents and national or local statistics and the urban development programs and investments of most cities do not include these areas. Slums represent the “’invisible’ city.”9

Howden Daniel, “Lagos: Inside the Ultimate Mega-city - Africa - World - The Independent,” The Independent, accessed March 11, 2013, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/lagos-inside-the-ultimate-megacity-1945246.html.

2 “Lagos: Inside the Ultimate Mega-city - Africa - World - The Independent,” accessed March 15, 2013, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/lagos-inside-the-ultimate-megacity-1945246.html.

3 Ibid.

4 Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Slums of the World: The Face of Urban Poverty in the New Millennium? (UN-HABITAT, 2003), 11.

5 Ibid., 10.

6 Mike Davis, Planet of Slums (USA: Verso, 2007), 18.

7 The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements 2003 (UN-HABITAT, 2003), 196.

8 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf,” 10, accessed March 21, 2013, http://www.irinnews.org/pdf/in-depth/TomorrowsCrisesTodayChapter1.pdf.

9 Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Slums of the World, 6.

1

9

1

Adapted from The Challenge of Slums

Figure 1.2 Proportion of urban population living in slums

10

Latin America/ Caribbean 31.9%% Oceania 24.1%

Proportion of Urban population in developing living in slums in 2001 adapted from “Challenge of Slums�.

Western Asia 33.1% South Central Asia 58% South Eastern Asia 28% Subsaharan africa 71.9%

Northern Africa 28.2%

Eastern asia 36.4%

Introduction

Attitudes to informal settlements are beginning to change. They are being identified as an important issue for development across the world. Not just as “an emerging type of urban population growth but as a new paradigm of human settlements.” 10 This has led to acts such as the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which aims to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

In a region of fast urban growth Nigeria stands out as a case to be studied. It is the most populous country and second largest economy in Sub- Saharan Africa after South Africa, with most of the government revenues coming from oil (75% government revenues, 95% of export earnings). At 5% per annum Nigeria’s urbanisation rate is among the highest in the world 11 and it crossed the 50% urbanisation mark in 2007.12 Meanwhile the country suffers from a 70% poverty level,13 making its urban population the largest of any low-income country apart from India, which is one of the reasons, its slum population currently stands at 79.2%.14 Nigeria is divided into 36 states, with Abuja as its Federal Capital territory. Located on the south west coast, Lagos is probably its best-known city. Despite being Nigeria’s smallest state, Lagos is “a mega city of dominant economic importance not just for Nigeria but West Africa as well: Lagos’ population is larger than that of thirty seven African countries and the largest in West Africa.” 15 Lagos covers only 0.4 % (3,345 sq. km16) of the land of Nigeria yet it is home to 10%17 of the country’s population. As the leading port and manufacturing city in West Africa, it has the largest concentration of multinational companies and people, most of the financial institutions in Nigeria together with “almost 60% of Nigeria’s non-oil economy“.18 Though Lagos’ internally generated revenues are the largest in Nigeria, it is a “poor city,”19 by World Bank definitions; its estimated poverty level of 70% makes it one of the poorest large cities in the world.20 The metropolises annual budget of about US$650 million in 2004 for an

Ibid.

World Bank, Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, Project Information Document, Appraisal Stage, 2006, 2, wwwwds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/05/08/000104615_20060508153648/Rendered/PDF/Project0In form120060Appraisal0Stage.pdf.

12 Ibid.

13 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 6, accessed March 15, 2013, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTURBANDEVELOPMENT/Resources/336387-1256566800920/65052691268260567624/Adelekan.pdf.

14 Davis, Planet of Slums, 24.

15 World Bank, Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, 2.

16 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf,” 30, accessed March 15, 2013, http://www.irinnews.org/pdf/in-depth/TomorrowsCrisesTodayChapter3.pdf.

17 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millennium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” in Urban Population-development-environment Dynamics in the Developing World: Case Studies and Lessons Learned (CICRED, Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography, 2009), 84.

18 World Bank, Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, 2.

19 Ibid.

20 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 6.

10 11

11

2

Nigeria Statistics

Estimated population132 million

Per capita GDP in 2004

70%

<$1 a day

Slum Population

Figure 1.3 Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Location and statistics

Niger Sokoto Burkina Faso

Katsina Zamfara

Ghana

Niger

Oyo

Osun Ogun Lagos

Ekiti

Ondo

Gulf of Guinea

Figure 1.4 36 states of Nigeria and Lagosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; location

Borno

Bauchi

Nigeria

Gombe Adamawa

Plateau Abuja F.C.T Nassarawa

Kwara

Edo

Kogi

Taraba Benue

Enugu

Anambra Ebonyi Cross Enugu River Delta Bayelsa Akwa River Ibom

Adapted from Oluwole Ilesanmi, Adetokunbo, Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city

12

Chad

Yobe

Kano

Kaduna

Benin

Togo

Jigawa

Introduction

estimated population of 11.3 is small compared to other cities in the developing world such as Delhi, which had a budget of US$ 2.6 billion for a population of 13.8 million people.21 Despite its fiscal issues, the demographic and spatial growth of Lagos has been extraordinary. Its location on the west coast of Africa has encouraged the development of trade within its hinterland, beginning in the 1800s with the slave trade. The city went from a population of 25,083, covering a land area of 3.97 sq. km in 186622 to obtaining megacity status in 1995. Currently approximately 606 people enter Lagos every minute,23 and rural-urban migration accounts for 75% of the population increases. The metropolis is presently the fifth largest city in the world but its explosive growth rate 4.8%24 per annum means that it is expected to have 17 million residents by 2015 making it the world’s third largest city.

The extreme growth of Lagos has created a great pressure on the land, leaving very limited space for development. Geographer Matthew Gandy deems Lagos’s structure as “amorphous urbanism”25 because the development has come largely without the help of city planners, producing a lack of the basic amenities and infrastructure found in the cities of developed countries. Moreover this has made land the most “valuable commodity to both the government and the citizens of Lagos.”26 Most “undeveloped land’27 has been occupied by “rural immigrants to satisfy their urban land needs,”28 resulting in the uncontrolled development of slum communities.

It is estimated that 70% of the total populace resides in slums. In 1981 42 informal settlements were identified by a World Bank urban renewal project. That number is thought to have increased to 20029 today due to the inadequacy of housing provisions, both from the state and private institutions, to satisfy the growing population.

This essay will focus on a slum, which has grown in response to the housing shortage in Lagos. Makoko can be seen from the Third Mainland Bridge upon entrance to mainland Lagos. It is called the “African Venice”30 because it sits on stilts above the Lagos lagoon. According to legends it began as a small fishing village in

World Bank, Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, 2.

Adetokunbo Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” Journal of Geography and Regional Planning 3, no. 10 (October 2010): 242.

23 Adetokunbo Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” Journal of Geography and Regional Planning 3, no. 10 (October 2010): 240–252.

24 World Bank, Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, 2.

25 “Learning from Lagos, Matthew Gandy.pdf,” 52, accessed March 15, 2013, http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/about-thedepartment/people/academics/matthew-gandy/professor-matthew-gandy/files/NLR.pdf.

26 Lagos State Government Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, “Ikeja Model City Plan (2010-2020),” March 2009, 3.

27 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 6.

28 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 78.

29 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf,” 30.

30 Martin Fletcher, “Lagos: The Audacity of Huge,” The Times, Eureka, May 2012, 14.

21 22

13

3

Niger Burkina Faso

Chad

Benin

Ghana

Nigeria

Togo

Lagos

Gulf of Guinea

11.3 million people in 2003

4.8%

3,345 km2

606 per minute

million

0.4%

% of land in Nigeria

10% of Nigerian population

Figure 1.5 Lagos location and statistics

14

Population growth per annum

people entering Lagos

% of population in slums

Per capita expenditure 2004

Annual budget 2004

1981

Today

Number of slums in Lagos

Introduction

the 18th century, however today Makoko is home to an unknown number of people. It has become a case of fascination and study by a range of people and organisations, from journalists to urbanists and elicits a range of responses. Some perceive it as an example of urban sustainability while for others it provides a “nightmarish vision of the future of arguably the planets fastest growing major city.”31 The Millennium Development Goals (MDG)32 will form a framework to analyse the effect of different approaches and theories on slums on the future of Makoko. The key goals I will focus on are: Goal 1- eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2- achieve universal primary education Goal 7- environmental sustainability Beginning with a background analysis of the historic and continued reasons behind the growth of slums in Lagos, this dissertation will investigate the effectiveness of slum improvement theories in helping Makoko achieve these goals. The first approach is slum clearance, which the Lagos government is implementing, knocking down the community to rebuild upmarket real estate. The second approach is John Turner’s selfhelp mantra, the idea that government’s role in informal settlements should only be to provide infrastructure and services. The serious issue of regular flooding in Makoko and Lagos as a whole will be used to examine this. Finally a consideration of architect Kunlé Adeyemi’s theory of Makoko as an example of urban sustainability and Hernando de Soto’s notion that slums have large untapped economic value that can be released through policies such as legalizing tenure, will be undertaken through an exploration of Makoko’s current systems, infrastructures and hierarchies.

31 32

Ibid.

The Challenge of Slums, 8.

15

4

Lagos:

Explosive growth, slums and Makoko

17

Figure 2.1 Physical growth of Lagos Source: Matthew Gandy

17.0

15

11.1 10

6.00 5

2.43 0.02 1866

Figure 2.2 Lagos population growth

0.03 1891

0.07 1911

0.09

0.13

0.26

1921

1931

1952

0.66

1963

1974

1988

2003

2015

Year

Adapted from Peil, Margaret. Lagos: The City Is the People. London: Belhaven, 1991. & World Bank. Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project. Project Information Document, Appraisal Stage, 2006.

18

Lagos

Lagos: Explosive growth, slums and Makoko “The rapid urbanization of Lagos due largely to unabated in-migration has been ascribed to many factors among which are, Lagos’ strategic location as major sea port in West Africa; Lagos being the biggest industrial centre not only in Nigeria but also in West Africa; and its position as the commercial, trading and business seat of Nigeria.”33

This chapter will study the growth of Lagos from a city of 300,000 people in 1950 to a projected population of 20 million by 2020.34 Mike Davis’s analysis of the development of slums in cities will form a background to this exploration.

The periods that define Lagos’ development closely fit Mike Davis’s description of the 20th century growth of mega-cities in developing countries in chapters 3, 4 and 7 of Planet of Slums. The first stage was the nineteenth century period of slow growth during Colonial Lagos (extending from 1851 to 1950s), followed by an era of rapid evolution in the early post colonial years (1960s), and the phase of metropolitan explosion, which is defined by the successive military governments, recession and economic restructuring policies (post-1980s).

In the nineteenth century colonial period, the island of Eko35 primarily formed Lagos and Yoruba fishermen and farmers dwelt there. It developed into a successful slave-trade centre and passageway to Brazil for the Portuguese who renamed it after its lagoon. Control of the Island was ceded to the British in 1861.

It was during colonial times that a great difference between the living standards of the colonial elites and the African majority became apparent. Aligning with Davis’s model of keeping the peasants out36 a colonial greenbelt was created in Lagos to form a “sanitary syndrome”37 keeping people of differing sanitary standards apart. The indigenous quarters of central Lagos were kept from the European reservation at Ikoyi. Profits from exports of palm oil and cotton also increased real estate demand for Europeans, which pushed most of the native population into overcrowded conditions. The unhealthy condition of the city started to become a cause for concern, leading to the first slum clearance in the 1930s after the outbreak of the bubonic plague. Unlike other colonies Lagosians were not denied land ownership by the British. As Margaret Peil explains in her book on Lagos, the land was traditionally ‘owned’ by the Oba (chief of Lagos),

Lagos State Government Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, “Ikoyi-Victoria Island Model City Plan,” 2007, 1.

“TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf,” 30.

35 Pauline H. Baker, Urbanization and Political Change: The Politics of Lagos, 1917-1967 (University of California Press, 1974), 17.

36 Davis, Planet of Slums, 51.

37 A. B. Aderibigbe, Lagos: The Development of an African City (London: Longman Nigeria, 1975), 83.

33 34

19

5

1981

Today

Number of slums in Lagos Lagos

Slums

260 per hectare

1240 per hectare

Densities

Lagos

Makoko Lagos lagoon

% of population in slums

Lagos lagoon

Figure 2.3 Lagos slum statistics

20

Lagos

who had the authority to grant plots to settlers. These leaseholds would be used by the grantees family and could be inherited. Nevertheless as land values rose, real estate could be used for loan security, and the British imposed their own laws of land tenure38 making the grantees de facto owners. This caused problems including periodic violence between communities.39 Another contrast to other African cities is that a “higher proportion of housing in Lagos is privately owned”40 as the colonial governments didn’t try to control housing for Nigerians.

The 1950s saw a massive population boom, as there were “significant economic, commercial and political changes favourable to rapid urbanization.”41 By the time the British left in 1960, they had estabilished a rudimentary parliamentary and municipal system; a great population boom ensued in Lagos, conforming to Davis’ narrative of the “countryside pouring into cities”42 post-independence. The state was created in 1966, with the city of Lagos as its capital. 1960s Lagos was a vibrant cultural place; nevertheless the hope and optimism that came from independence could not conceal the increasing economic and political tensions. The fast growth of the city combined with little social investment brought overcrowding, unaffordable housing, unemployment and deteriorating transport services. The postcolonial governments had little interest in providing housing; what was built was mostly for senior officials or the uniformed services.43 In the late 1960s the Biafran war, a civil war between the Igbo population and the supposed Northern Hausa elites, tore through Nigeria driving refugees to Lagos.

The following decade was a time of great affluence for Nigerians as the rise in oil prices multiplied government revenues sixty-fold, “this proved not only to be irresistible to Nigerians, but also to emigrants from neighbouring countries.”44 New infrastructure programs were implemented demolishing working class areas. Conversely the recession in the early 1980s meant the income division increased and the majority of those infrastructure programs were left to deteriorate. Successive military dictatorships led to strategic plans for Lagos being “torn up by the generals as a sign of contempt for civilian government.”45 Additionally the capital of Nigeria was moved from Lagos to Abuja, in 199146, which is centrally located Nigeria’s story in the 1980s closely follows Davis’ exploration of the Bretton Woods institutions contribution to the growth of slums and increasing urban poverty as a result of neo-liberal economic doctrine, which

Margaret Peil, Lagos: The City Is the People (London: Belhaven, 1991), 142.

Ibid., 143.

40 Ibid., 163.

41 Aderibigbe, Lagos, 81.

42 Davis, Planet of Slums, 58.

43 Peil, Lagos, 157.

44 Ibid., 20.

45 “Learning from Lagos, Matthew Gandy.pdf,” 44.

46 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 6.

38 39

21

6

Figure 2.4 Makoko google earth view

22

Lagos

promoted Structural Adjustment programs (SAPs) for developing countries. As he explains the IMF and World Bank used the power of debt to reconstruct the economies of most of the third world.

The worldwide recession in 1981 and the drop in oil prices deeply affected the Nigeria. Its debt rose from $13bn to $30bn between 1981 and 1989.47 Nigeria, with other third world borrowers, faced pressure to repay this money. General Babangida, military leader from 1985 to 1993 implemented many SAP strategies with “Nigerian characteristics”48 including greatly reducing all state subsidies, devaluing the Naira and slashing tariff and agricultural subsides. Western capitalist promoters, such as Margaret Thatcher, commended him and he was labeled the “liberal general.”49 The Bretton Woods Institutions believed these policies would increase productivity and competition, lower the price of commodities and encourage globalization thereby resulting reduced poverty. The outcome was opposite: as Challenge of Slums highlights, the main cause of poverty and inequality increases during the 1980s and 1990s was the “retreat of the state.”50 Poverty figures in Nigeria rose from 28% in 1980 to 66% in 199651 and “the small-farming sector, still Nigeria’s largest employer, was decimated.”52 The population of Lagos doubled as rural migrants flocked to the city, “settling where they could get a foothold in the spreading shanty towns on the margins of railway tracks or highways, or in shacks precariously extended over the filthy canals, ditches and waterways.”53 Lagos like many developing cities became trapped in a cycle of rising immigration, declining formal employment, and falling revenues. The metropolis grew in what Davis terms as a “form of urban ‘involution’ marked by vast expansion in combination with economic decline.”54 Reduction of the state disproportionality affected the poor as “no effort was made to reduce military expenditure or to tax income or the real estate of the rich.”55 Corruption was also an issue: for instance during Babangida’s leadership $12bn56 went missing from state funds.

Nigeria spent roughly $1bn a year on repaying its debt without making a dent.57 This was three times more than on education and fifteen times more than on health care.58 However in 2006 Nigeria became was the

47 “Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf,” 45, accessed March 16, 2013, http://www.ng.boell.org/downloads/120420_Makoko_Research_Document_NLE.pdf.

48 Ibid., 46.

50 The Challenge of Slums, 43.

50 The Challenge of Slums, 43.

51 “Learning from Lagos, Matthew Gandy.pdf,” 46.

52 Ibid.

53Ibid.

54 Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” 242.

55 Davis, Planet of Slums, 155.

56 “Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf,” 47.

57 “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,” accessed March 30, 2013, http://www.fmf.gov.ng/the-ministry/management-team/honourable-minister.html.

23

7

MAKOKO

Photography:

Lagos State Goverment Orthophotography Figure 2.5 MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL â&#x20AC;&#x201D; AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT Makoko location and statistics

Source: Makoko Research Document NLE

Figure 2.6 Aerial view of Makoko and the Third Mainland Bridge

Source: http://blogsvila.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/demolition-starts-at-makoko-slum.html

24

49

Lagos

first African country to pay its debt to the Paris Club, a group of bilateral creditors, by agreeing to pay $12bn in return for an $18bn write off.59 Today Nigeria is a democracy and there is hope that there will be strategic planning and policymaking, however it still faces “corruptive consumption”60 by political leaders, which leaves very little money for investment in social and physical infrastructure. Since 2000 Lagos has drawn approximately 600,00061 people a year many of whom end up in slums putting a great strain on the already under funded government, which is “trapped in a continual game of catch-up.”62 There are several key aspects that currently contribute to approximately two thirds of Lagos’s population living in poor conditions today. Arguably among the most important are: the difficult geography of the city, the 1978 law that allows government to vest all land and the high cost of land.

The rapid population growth has caused a high demand for land, because of Lagos’s geographic qualities its location and terrain. The Atlantic Ocean impedes southern growth meaning that the physical growth of Lagos is steered “towards the north only”63 and that the city has had very “little areal growth.” 64 Additionally 40% of the city’s area is covered by water and wetlands65 with 12% of it subject to periodic flooding.66 A series of swamps and coves cover the rest of the land and much of this has been filled in by informal settlements.

Another reason for the continued slum development is the 1978 law implemented under the leadership of General Olusegun Obasanjo, the Military head of State. It meant that the power to control and administer land was vested to the governor of each state and required all land boundaries and owners were registered.67 Thereby individually owned urban land cannot be family owned, as was the convention. A report by the World Bank in 2012 also noted that the cost of land registration as a percentage of property value in Nigeria is 20.8% compared to the average of 9.4% for sub- Saharan Africa.68 This has made it

“Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf,” 48.

“Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,” accessed March 30, 2013, http://www.fmf.gov.ng/the-ministry/management-team/honourable-minister.html.

60 Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” 246.

61 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf,” 29.

62 “Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 18, accessed March 21, 2013, http://www.za.boell.org/downloads/Perspectives_Cities_3.12_WEB.pdf.

63 Aderibigbe, Lagos, 91.

64 Peil, Lagos, 151.

65 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf,” 31.

66 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 84.

67 Peil, Lagos, 143.

68 Yinka Kolawole, “Lagos Set to Reduce Cost of Land Documentation,” October 1, 2012, http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/10/lagosset-to-reduce-cost-of-land-documentation/.

58 59

25

8

Figure 2.7 Aerial view of landside of Makoko and floating wood

Source: http://blogsvila.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/demolition-starts-at-makoko-slum.html

Figure 2.8 Aerial view of shacks surrounding the Third Mainland Bridge

Source: http://blogsvila.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/demolition-starts-at-makoko-slum.html

26

Lagos

expensive for poor to enter the housing market, as they have no legal hold on the land and so have no access to credit facilities.

The increasing cost of Lagos land and building costs means that for speculators there is “less interest in providing housing for the poor”69 as it brings in less profit. The high costs of legal acquisition of land and building as well as limited land space have all contributed to Lagos’s housing shortage of about 5 million housing units.70 High density comes as a response to this as the urban poor to seek cheap forms of accommodation; The population density of Lagos’s slums run from 790 people per hectare to 1240 people per hectare compared to the average residential density for Lagos which is about 260 people per hectare.71 Often located on the “urban periphery”72 the informal settlements house 70% of the population and range in size from clusters of shacks to entire districts.

The Challenge of Slums sums this situation by judging the evolution of shantytowns as the product of “failed policies, bad governance, corruption, inappropriate regulation, dysfunctional land markets, unresponsive financial systems and a fundamental lack of political will.”73 Makoko is unique as of these settlements because of its site in the Lagos lagoon. However the future of the community is under threat from two key agents: the government and increased flooding as a result of climate change. The proceeding chapters will explore possible outlooks for Makoko using concepts on improving the lives of slum dwellers.

Peil, Lagos, 146.

Kunle Adeyemi, “African Watercities,” Architectural Design 82, no. 5 (October 2012): 100.

71 World Bank, Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, 13.

72 Aderibigbe, Lagos, 96.

73 The Challenge of Slums, xxxii.

69 70

27

9

Theory 1:

Demolish and rebuild

Vision of Lagos the Model City

29

Figure 3.1 Area of Makoko under demolition 30

Source: Makoko Research Document NLE

Theory 1: Demolish and Rebuild

Theory 1: Demolish and rebuild- vision of Lagos the Model City “Waterfronts present great potential for development of waterfront/ water based recreational and tourism facilities, the city lacks any meaningful outdoor recreational centres.” 74

This section will look at the Lagos government’s attitude to Makoko and their plans to demolish it and rebuild. Exploring the effect on the community and how this aligns with the Millennium Development Goal of poverty reduction.

Lagos has moved from being known as one of the dirtiest city on the world,75 to being by mutual consensus “cleaner, safer and noticeably less sclerotic, and most of the credit is given to Babatunde Raji Fashola, a passionate and personable former lawyer who became the youngest governor of Lagos State in 2007.”76 He has been on a local and global campaign to change Lagos’s image and to turn Lagos into “Africa’s model megacity.”77 This has involved cleaning up the city, working on its infrastructure and clearing illegal settlements as well as implementing building schemes such as the Eko Atlantic, which is hoped to be Africa’s Manhattan.78 It is easy to understand why Makoko, one of the first things you see when entering the mainland from the Third Mainland Bridge does not fit this image.

Although two- thirds of the Lagos population lives in slums the authorities see them as people of No Fixed address.79 Makoko is deemed as a squatter community and the government provides no support for the population, as they believe doing this would encourage its continued expansion. Instead they have “resorted to demolition as a solution to slum proliferation.”80 In 2012, the administration implemented a slum clearance scheme in Makoko, in order to make way for a redevelopment of the coastline under the new Lagos Model City Master plan. On July 12th 2012, the residents of the Makoko were given a notice of eviction.81 Thousands were expulsed and the operation was only stopped when the police killed a community leader. 82

Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, “Ikoyi-Victoria Island Model City Plan,” 30.

Peil, Lagos, 188. Lagos was in the Guinness Book of Records as the dirtiest city in the world 76 Fletcher, “Lagos: The Audacity of Huge,” 15.

77 Ibid.

78 Ibid.

79 Kazeem Ayoola, “Earth File: Living in Makoko, the Venice of Lagos - YouTube,” Youtube, accessed February 16, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oY_wqij6n0. The Makoko residents are called people of No Fixed Address (NFA’s) by the Lagos Commissioner for the Waterfront 80 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf,” 33.

81 Please see appendix- Makoko notice of eviction 82 “Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 22.

74 75

31

10

Figure 3.2 View of the electrical pylons near the development

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 3.3 Waste is dumped directly into the lagoon which is said to damage the ecology of lagoon Source: Heinrich-Bรถll-Stiftung

32

Figure 3.4 Example of sand filling the lagoon that is said to increase flooding in other parts of Lagos Source: http://blogsvila.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/demolition-starts-at-makoko-slum.html

Theory 1: Demolish and Rebuild

A variety of reasons were given for the demolition of Makoko. One was the continued building close to a high-tension power line that supplies electricity to Victoria Island, the most expensive neighbourhood in Lagos. The locals fought to reduce the demolition of the neighbourhood to a 100m setback from the power line.83 Concerns over the shrinking of Lagos’s lagoons were also raised. The lagoon receives the water from Lagos’s canals providing natural drainage, however the piling of sawdust and waste in the communities is believed to be causing the water to rise, contributing to flooding in other areas. They authorities contend that the community is damaging the ecology of the lagoon.

Governor Fashola stated that his plan is to stop the expansion of the community, whilst providing infrastructure and services for those within the recognized boundaries the government has selected. As Makoko is predominantly fishing based the governor proposed to rehouse the displaced people on land in other parts of the state close to water.84 However this contrasts with what happened to those dispossessed as they were not compensated or relocated.

Their story has been compared to Maroko, which was the most famous Lagos slum in the 1990s. Under the military leader Babangida, the residents were forced out of their homes on Victoria Island. Ignoring public protest the officials evicted the 300,00085 residents. One of the reasons given was the low lying land was more susceptible to flooding86 yet the same land was later developed into high-end residential properties.

The people who lost their homes were not relocated and in both Maroko and Makoko thousands of the urban poor were made homeless, increasing poverty and consequently they decamped to “another, probably more marginal and inappropriate piece of land.”87 However rehousing and reimbursing slum dwellers in Lagos is problematic because of complex land tenure and ownership patterns, which are difficult to get to the bottom of.

Subsequent to Maroko this pattern of “demolition has become a frequent recourse for local authorities, who are often beholden to land speculators keen to cash in on the acute land scarcity of Lagos.” 88 Davis deems this practice as “contemporary Haussmannization;”89 the trend of “’spatial exclusion’”90 where the urban

Eniola Akinkuotu, “Thousands Displaced as LASG Begins Demolition of Makoko Shanties — The Punch - Nigeria’s Most Widely Read Newspaper,” July 17, 2012, http://www.punchng.com/metro/thousands-displaced-as-lasg-begins-demolition-of-makoko-shanties/.

84 Miriam Ndikanwu, “The Nation - Why We’re Demolishing Makoko, by Fashola,” July 24, 2012, http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/54971-why-we%E2%80%99re-demolishing-makoko,-by-fashola.html.

85 Davis, Planet of Slums, 102.

86 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 15.

87 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf,” 34.

88 Ibid.

89 Davis, Planet of Slums, 114.

90 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf,” 34.

83

33

11

Figure 3.5 & 3.6 Makoko residents protesting slum demolition Source: www.aafgallery.com/#!makoko-/cap2

Figure 3.7 & 3.8 Eko Atlantic city project Aerial view of land reclaimed from the sea

Source: http://www.ekoatlantic.com/media/image-gallery/#dp_lightbox[set_2]/27/

Figure 3.9 & 3.10 Eko Atlantic City project visualisations of the design concept

Source:http://www.ekoatlantic.com/media/image-gallery/#dp_lightbox[set_1]/10/

34

Theory 1: Demolish and Rebuild

poor are pushed out of town centres, allowing land values to grow exponentially. Makoko is situated in the “heart of Lagos”91 in an ideal and central location for the up market real estate and the land reclamation developments of Lagos. The occupiers have converted the unused space into housing land thus increasing land values for the owners, officially the Lagos government; they in return can evict the residents because of their lack of legal status.

Makoko’s predicament lines with Davis’ notion that squatters are increasingly “the vassals of landlords and developers.”92 The government and private investors want to develop the waterfront to create amenities and facilities in line with the Megacity Masterplan project. These projects are expected to be funded by private investors, as in the case of the Eko Atlantic city development, located a few miles south of Makoko, which is the largest privately funded infrastructure project in Africa.93 Though they aim to improve and beautify the Lagos, these urban renewal schemes do not address the issues of housing the urban poor who cannot afford the inflated housing prices of the city so choose to live in places such as Makoko. Rebuilding the area would make it hard to rehouse its low income dwellers as the resulting rise in house prices would push them out of the community. Governor Fashola hopes to “secure the future of Lagos” through private investment but this may not be the best way forward, as the primary aim of private enterprises is “not the provision of service but the creation of profit for shareholders and rewards for top managers.”94 As we can see from the Maroko precedent the outcome of privately led housing schemes has often been that the supposed public housing ends up as estates for the wealthy or middle class.

There is no denying the Lagos government faces a serious issue in trying to deal with the rapidly growing population. Governor Fashola has made strides through a series of interventions to improve the image of the city. Nevertheless destroying the Makoko slum isn’t a lasting solution to the rapid urbanization of the city and resulting housing shortage. It deters achievement of the Millennium Development Goals as instead of improving the slum dwellers lives, it leaves them homeless, increases poverty and forces them to move to another unsuitable plot. Rather “a vision of how to regularise the city’s informal settlements and develop an inclusive city for all its citizens”95 is needed.

“Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 22.

Davis, Planet of Slums, 82.

93 Fletcher, “Lagos: The Audacity of Huge,” 15.

94 The Challenge of Slums, 44.

95 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 103.

91 92

35

12

Theory 2:

Sites-and-Services

Provision of basic infrastructure to mitigate flooding

37

FLOOD RISK IN LAGOS

PROJECTED FLOODING AFTER A SEA LEVEL RISE OF 1 METRE

Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria Figure 4.1 Fifth Urban Research Symposium 2009 Projected flooding following a sea level rise of 1 metre Source: Makoko Research Project NLE

Source: Bas van de Sande, GIS Consultant

Figure 4.2 Mean rainstorm amount(mm) for Lagos Island (1971-2005)

Source: Adelekan, Ibidun O., Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria

Figure 4: Mean rainstorm amount(mm) for Lagos Island(1971-2005) (Source: Author‟s analysis of meteorological data) 38

Table 5: Rainfall characteristics for Lagos Island

27

2005

2000

1995

1990

1985

1980

1975

1971

MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

Theory 2; Sites- and- Services- provision of basic infrastructure to mitigate Flooding “The urban poor face a worsening situation as the effects of climate change including floods arising from increasing frequency of storm surges, and heavy rainfall of long duration or high intensity become more severe.”96

Apart from demolishing Makoko Governor Fashola proposes to improve the lives of the Makoko dwellers by providing basic amenities and infrastructure.97 This follows John Turner’s concept that “self-help” is the way forward for slum dwellers. He promoted a “sites-and-services”98 approach, where basic infrastructure is added but the slum community is left to continue on its own with the help of grassroots organisations.

Using the major problem of flooding, this chapter will seek to examine the validity of this method for Makoko.

The consequence of climate change on the rapidly urbanizing cities of the developing world is seldom noted, however coastal cities around the world will be the most affected by the impact of global warming.

Besides Antarctica, “Africa is the only continent with a greater proportion of people living near the coastline than further inland.”99 Sea level rises alongside heavier and longer duration of rainfall put coastal cities such as Lagos at risk.

The Nigerian climate has two seasons. The dry season runs from October to March and the wet season from April to October “with a break in August, thereby giving rainfall pattern a double maximum.”100 There have been changes to the storm patterns over recent years that contribute to the risk of flooding.

Rainstorms have been getting heavier every year though the number of rain days has reduced.101 Lagos is susceptible to flooding especially during rainy seasons and high tides for several reasons. Its land is low lying, rising no more than 3m above sea level in some areas.102 Secondly almost half of Lagos is water, while the land is a mix of mangroves and wetlands. Moreover the growth of Lagos has affected its

“Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 2.

Ndikanwu, “The Nation - Why We’re Demolishing Makoko, by Fashola.”

98 Davis, Planet of Slums, 71.

99 “Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 19.

100 Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, “Ikeja Model City Plan (2010-2020),” 6.

101 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 7. “Ayoade and Akintola (1980) in a study of rainstorms for Lagos for the period 1960-1980 observed that most rainstorms for this period were rather small in size as the yielded less than 12.7mm of rainfall. Analyses of rainstorms in Lagos Island for the period 1971-2005 show that in more recent years (19962005) rainstorms have been heavier even though the number of rain days per annum has reduced” 102 “Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf,” 60.

96 97

39

13

Lagos mainland

Makoko Lagos lagoon

Lagos Island Victoria Island Badagry Creek

38%-100% Lagos is 40% composed of water

% of wetland loss between 1986 and 2006

Figure 4.3 Flood statistics of Lagos

Figure 4.4 Makoko community

Source: www.aafgallery.com/#!makoko-/cap2

40

43% % of households flooded in 2005

16% % of flooding inside homes

80% of slum dwellers flooded 2009

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

capacity to cope with floods; the city grew from 200km2 in 1960 to about 1,140 Km2 in 2000. 103 The demand for space has resulted in the reclamation of land by filing up swamps and floodplains, as well as the destruction of mangroves and wetlands, which have “generally reduced the flood storage capacity of the urban land.”104 The problem of flooding has seemed to be an overwhelming and complex task for Lagos. The city does not currently have the infrastructure to withstand extreme weather and there has been poor institutional capacity to develop and apply modern planning tools to manage a complex drainage system.105 Slum dwellers are often the worst hit when natural disasters such as flooding occur because they often live “on marginal, unstable and dangerous land with no financial cushion.”106 Geographer Ibidun O. Adelekan collected data from four poor urban coastal communities including Makoko, in a study of the effect of climate change.107 Over 80% of the respondents had been in flood-affected zones three to four times in 2008108 each one lasting approximately four days. Flooding was seen to be the most important issue for them and most of the respondents believed the overpopulation of the communities as the main cause.

Other factors mentioned were: inadequate drainage systems, blockage of the canals because of improper waste disposal, sand-filing activities and supernatural factors. Although global warming is arguably the biggest influence on the changing flood patterns only 0.8%109 of the respondents mentioned it as a factor.

There are several reasons why global warming is not an issue that is forefront in the minds of the urban poor of Makoko. Firstly, the exigencies off the poor: when living on less than $1 a day, the wider implications of the actions of people across the world may not seem particularly relevant. Makoko is a religious society and many believed that flooding is a result supernatural factors. Additionally most of the residents interviewed said they hadn’t noticed a change in the frequency of floods over the last few years and the community contends that their lifestyle has very little environmental impact though improper waste disposal and sand-filing contributes to the flooding.

Flooding affects these communities in a variety of ways, disrupting movement, making food scarce and creating unhygienic environments with increased risk of diseases such as malaria. Buildings are also damaged, both internally and externally. The Makoko inhabitants surveyed, said that they dealt with flooding with little or no government intervention. Their coping strategies included; sand-filing rooms, raising the property level, using buckets to remove the water and constructing drainage channels. These

“Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 7.

Ibid.

105 World Bank, Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, 3.

106 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf,” 10.

107 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria.”

108 Ibid.

109 Ibid., 13.

103 104

14

41

Figure 4.5, 4.6 & 4.7 Buildings in Makoko damaged by flooding in February 2012

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

42

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

activities are costly, for example households spent between N6000- N15000 ($37.83- 94.59)110 sandfiling their rooms every wet season.

Flooding is a difficulty for Lagos’s urban poor and “has been identified as one of the major factors that prevents Africa’s growing population of city dwellers from escaping poverty.”111 The shanties residents said flooding disrupted their economic and livelihood activities and reduced portable water and food supplies. It follows that diminishing these problems through infrastructural improvements would help alleviate poverty for Makoko inhabitants and progress towards meeting MDG2; eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

In the 1970s architect John Turner with the support of the World Bank advocated the principle of self-help as a cost effective and pragmatic strategy to rapid urbanisation. With this approach the government would enhance the living standard of slum dwellers through provision of facilities and services. In line with this principle in 2006 the Lagos government has received a US$200 million World Bank loan for The Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project. The aim is to improve the water sanitation and flood protection facilities of slums in the city. Many residents noted that maintaining adequate drainage was key way to mitigate flooding as the areas of the community that had improved drainage systems experienced less flooding.112 Davis however contends that often these sites-and-services schemes don’t make a visible impact as they are taken over by the “middle classes or non-needy.”113 In a country such as Nigeria, rated the 35th most corrupt country in the world, 114 it is hard to imagine that the help will reach those in need. Makoko’s tenants complain that when funds are made available to assist them the money often “end up in the pockets of the government officials who are meant to disburse them.”115 Putting infrastructure provisions to prevent or mitigate the effects of flooding work to help Makoko achieve MDG 1 as it would reduce the disruption in economic activity that this common natural occurrence causes and decrease household expenses incurred from coping with flooding. Nevertheless in order for this to be effective “good governance”116 is needed from the Lagos authorities.

Ibid., 15.

“Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria.”

112 Ibid., 14.

113 Davis, Planet of Slums, 73.

114 “2012 Corruption Perceptions Index -- Results,” accessed April 2, 2013, http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/.

115 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 102.

116 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf,” 14.

110 111

43

15

Theory 3:

Self- Help

Makoko an example of urban and economic sustainability

45

Location

Iwaya

Makoko Lagos Lagoon

Ebute- Metta

Third Mainland Bridge

72 ha

Area

Extends 1/2 mile into lagoon

Estimated population- 175.535

approx 200,000

Fishing- main economic activity

Approx 40,000

713 people per hectare

Density

Figure 5.1 Makoko statistics 46

Average income per month

Theory 3: Self-Help

Theory 3: Self- Help- Makoko an example of urban and economic Sustainability “Makoko is one of the communities that sprang up sporadically in contravention of the wider state settlements patterns and development plans. The area lies in the south east of Mainland Local Government overlooking the Lagos lagoon and the third mainland bridge to the east.”117

Although they have not received modern infrastructure, supporters of Makoko claim that it is an example of sustainable urban design as their “adaptation to their environment offer valuable insights for addressing the imminent challenges of urbanisation and climate change in coastal cities.”118 Makoko’s building technique of raised houses on stilts is reasoned to be well prepared to handle sea level rises, as opposed to the government technique of land reclamation. The community has also found solutions to Lagos’ problems “creating opportunities for agriculture, industry and trade.”119 This chapter will view Makoko from through the “slums of hope” perspective, which John Turner and Hernando de Soto encourage. It will examine Makoko as an example of urban, social and economic sustainability, and explore if this viewpoint moves towards achieving the MDGs of poverty reduction, universal primary education and environmental sustainability.

Most of the focus of building a sustainable urban city is on the idea of increasing density of development, ensuring diversity, containing urban sprawl and accomplishing social and economic variety. With the objective of “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”120 Architect and urbanist Kunlé Adeyemi maintains that Makoko’s residents should be applauded for their innovation and the settlement should be seen as a form of sustainable urbanism. John Turner, an admirer of the “communal self-organization and clever construction”121 of slum communities, originally popularized the idea of slums as a solution to rapid urbanisation. He promoted the neo-liberal ideas of self-help, incremental construction and legalizing spontaneous urbanisation. Similarly economist Hernando de Soto maintained that slums have a great economic value and policies such as legalizing tenure would be a practical and cost effective approach to slum upgrading. Davis however criticises their approach, calling it a

117 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 91.

118 “Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 20.

119 Heinrich Böll Foundation, “Ecology & Sustainability - Heinrich Böll Foundation,” Text, Www.ng.boell.org, July 3, 2012, http://www.ng.boell.org/web/ecology-and-sustainability-357.html.

120 Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” 242.

121 Davis, Planet of Slums, 71.

47

16

Locals

Figures 5.2, 5.3 & 5.4 Makoko locals

Source: http://treymujak.com/portfolio-2/makoko-gallery/

48

Figure 5.5, 5.6 & 5.7 People in Makoko

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

“smokescreen for reneging upon historic state commitments to relieve poverty and homelessness.”122 He argues that this hands off approach leads to governments downscaling public housing and spending thus social investment in education, healthcare, sanitation and infrastructure amongst others suffer and lag behind population growth.

An investigation into the social infrastructure, urban forms and economics of Makoko will contextualise the differing views of Turner, de Soto and Davis in relation to the MDG’s. An interview with the son of a Makoko chief Noah Shemede,123 who is also a head teacher at a Makoko school, a report on security of tenure for Lagos’ slum population Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, and data collected by Omoayena Yadua and Kunlé Adeyemi on housing typologies will be used analyse Makoko’s urbanism.

122 123

Ibid., 72.

Shemede Noah, Noah Shemede, Phone interview with author, March 22, 2013.

49

17

Heirachy and Policing

Figure 5.8 Noah Shemede, Ben Stiller and a local chief Source: Noah Shemede

50

Social Sustainability

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

Location Makoko is located within the south-eastern part of Lagos in a central location, which allows easy connection to the mainland. The shantytown is approximately 91 hectares in size, extends ½ a mile into the water124 and is surrounded by a “mass of abundant Akoko trees, wild swamp vegetation and animals.”125 The northern part is on the water and represents the “Houses of the lagoon”126 while the smaller southern part is on the land and is located to the south of the lagoon.

In relation to sustainable urbanism the community has responded to geography of the city, which is over third composed of water, and the land shortage by building on the lagoon. However this makes them vulnerable to natural disasters such as flooding. The growth of the community is restricted as construction can only extend a certain distance till it becomes unsafe to build; its “compact urban forms reduce urban sprawl.”127

Locals As with most slums there are no official figures for the population or demographics of Makoko because it isn’t included in official census figures. Nonetheless In 2002 the Mainland Planning Authority estimated Makoko’s population at 84,840,128 using the growth rate of 7.5%129 the population can be projected to have been 175,535 in 2012, however some reports approximate 300,000.

The original settlers were mainly migrant fishermen of Egun and Ilaje stock. 130 Fishing continues to be the primary economic activity and it draws newcomers into the community. Noah describes the incoming migrants as mostly from Nigeria, from Badagri, in Lagos State, or Egun State.131 Additionally there are immigrant settlers from West Africa, such as Togo, Niger Delta, Benin and Ghana. This mix of ethnic groups makes the community socially diverse.

Even without in migration, the natural population growth ensures that the community continues to develop, for example Noah is a 6th generation occupant and says that most people, like him, were born there and

“BBC Two - Welcome to Lagos, Episode 2,” BBC, accessed March 28, 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s5x5w.

Omoayena Yadua, “Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos,” Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 14, no. 6 (2012): 73.

126 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 93.

127 Mike Jenks and Colin Jones, Dimensions of the Sustainable City (London, New York: Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg, 2010), 2.

128 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 88–89.

129 Ibid., 91.

130 “Makoko: A Lagos Venice in the Making, Articles | THISDAY LIVE,” August 5, 2012, http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/makoko-alagos-venice-in-the-making/121604/.

131 Noah, Noah Shemede, Phone interview with author.

124 125

51

18

%

Tenure 90

80 90 70 80 60 70 50 60 40 50

%

30

40 20

%

Figure 5.9 Community life

30 10 20

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Governmen

10

6 90

tenancy ref- Ade

80

Figure 5.12 Residential status

90

Source: Adelekan, Ibidun O., Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria 70

80 60 Photography: Panoramio user Nicki

Figure 5.10 View of buildings on stilts

70

7

60

50

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

40 50

%

Photography: Panoramio user Tambek

30

MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL â&#x20AC;&#x201D; AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

40

52

20 30 10 20

Figure 5.11 A local travels through the water

10

Source: Katie Mark

Government Community (major ethnic groups)

Figure 5.13 Land procurement

Family

Transfer from previous occupants

Self acquisition

Adapted from Agbola, Tunde and Agunbiade, Elijah M. Urbanization, slum development and security of tenure: the challenges of meeting millenium development goal 7 in metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria 52

tenancy ref- Adelekan, 11

Purchased from vendor

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

hardly leave. The lack of space to build on the lagoon could mean that the density, which is already high, will continue to increase. This can produce issues of overcrowding and unsanitary environments as well as “social tensions, crime or fear of crime and bad neighbour effects.”132

Hierarchy and policing In regards to community structure in spite of all land in Lagos being ceded to the federal government traditional land rights are still recognised. Most Lagos slums are owned by one large landowner, which is usually a family. The Olaiya family owns Makoko and the Oloto family is also another landowner.133 The community has no relationship to the government except during election season, when Noah expresses they come to mobilise the community to vote but do not return afterwards. Traditional chiefs instead govern Makoko. They make the key decisions and protect the interests of the citizens. The two parts of the community have their own leaders; the landside has 3 chiefs while the waterside has 9 chiefs, though Noah states the land leaders have more power. The main chief or “Baale”134 of Makoko is Chief Kunle Olaiya.

The police rarely go into Makoko so the community “defends itself from outsiders and keeps to itself.”135 Policing in Makoko also comes from “notorious "area boys." 136 These are gangs recruited from the large number of unemployed young men in Lagos and they can control everything from parking to drugs. They are “part neighbourhood watch, part protection racket.”137 Makoko has its own form of urban rule, whereby community leaders have more power than the Lagos authorities. Some may say this is a better form of governance, as the chiefs’ care for a small populace who they know better than the federal government ever could. They look after their welfare and are highly respected and trusted by the citizens. But this is not a democratic system, as these chiefs are not elected, rather the title is passed down.

T enure Another aspect of social structure is tenure. Noah depicts the process of building in Makoko, as a largely informal one. Individuals with the help of friends and family, instead of private companies, build the houses.

Jenks and Jones, Dimensions of the Sustainable City, 9.

Yadua, “Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos,” 73.

134 “Makoko: A Lagos Venice in the Making, Articles | THISDAY LIVE.” 135 John Vidal, “March 05: John Vidal’s Photo Journal | Makoko Slums and Sawmills. Lagos, Nigeria,” Guardian Unlimited, March 2005, http://www.guardian.co.uk/pictures/image/0,8543,-10105140983,00.html.

136 Daniel, “Lagos: Inside the Ultimate Mega-city - Africa - World - The Independent.”

137 Daniel, “Lagos: Inside the Ultimate Mega-city - Africa - World - The Independent.”

132 133

19

53

Urbanism

MAKOKO 1981

Source Kentina Earth Sciences Interntional Canada 1981 in SNC-Lavalin (1995) MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

149

MAKOKO 2012

Photo Lagos State Government Orthophotography MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

Figure 5.14 & 5.15 The growth of Makoko, from 1981 to 2012 Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

54

150

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

Space isn’t traded for money. To get consent they buy the chief “warm snapps, cola nuts or something like that”138 and show him the plot they found. Noah believed most people build their own houses, however Adelekan found that only 10%139 were owner-occupiers while Yadua’s figure was 45.5%.140 The disparity in the figures is noteworthy; possible explanations for this are: concealment of true tenure status because of a distrust of officials as a result of the experience of slum removal or tenure disputes.

Agbola and Agunbiade discovered that many homes were “occupied on a leasehold basis… the occupants are required to pay an annual rent to the land owners.”141 Only 7% of Makoko residents have legal title of ownership.142 The reasons behind this are that many residents cannot afford to get legal documents (a building plan and land registration) because of the high registration cost, furthermore they find the process time consuming and feel that a legal title isn’t very important because of the quality of the buildings. 143 The sizable rental population is mainly attributed to the insecurity of land tenure. The Lagoon belongs to the Federal government, so the Makoko residents live there without consent.144 Affordability of rent is an important aspect of sustainability. Both Adelekan and Yadua found in their study that the cheap and affordable rent (among the lowest in Lagos) as well as low cost of housing was part of their decision to live in Makoko.145146 Though renting is the most viable option for the residents it does leave them vulnerable as renters are often the “most invisible and powerless of slum-dwellers,”147 with no political power or influence. Adelekan and Adeyemi maintain that insecurity of tenure is probably the most important issue facing slum communities as can be seen in the Makoko demolition of 2012. Their study revealed that tenure status “had a major impact on poverty and overall environmental quality.”148 It prevents the citizens from investing in the community as they feel it isn’t worthwhile it if they will be moved on. It also means that they don’t have access to credit facilities as 78%149 of Makoko’s respondents said, keeping them in a poverty trap.

Noah, Noah Shemede, Phone interview with author.

“Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 11.

140 Yadua, “Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos,” 78.

141 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 98.

142 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 11.

143 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 101.

144 Ibid., 98.

145 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 12.

146 Yadua, “Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos,” 71.

147 Davis, Planet of Slums, 44.

148 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 103.

149 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 102.

138 139

20

55

Building & Materials 100

80

60

40

20

0

Plank/ bamboo

Cement bungalow

Storey building

Brick bungalow

Housing typology

Figure 5.19 Housing Typologies of Makoko Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena.

Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

Figure 5.16 Roofâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are made from tin or thatch Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.20 There is a permeability between the waterways and the buildings Figure 5.17 Interior spaces, are small and functional

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project. php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 5.18 A range of materials are used to build

Figure 5.21 Example of Bamboo and wood building

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Source: Heinrich-BĂśll-Stiftung

56

Source: http://treymujak.com/portfolio-2/makoko-gallery/

Terrace building Population of Housing types ref- Yadua, pg 76

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

In response to this situation, Hernando de Soto encouraged property rights and legalizing tenure for slum dwellers in the 1990s.150 Arguing that the urban poor are sitting on untapped capital in the form of real estate, which could be turned into liquid capital through property rights at little or no cost to the government. The result would be an improvement in their lives and they would be able to help the formal economy by investing in the shantytown and creating new jobs.

The only form of title registration available to Lagos slums is the “Special District Program” 151 which is subject to the acquisition of the area by the government, with compensation being paid to the family. Later on titles would be given to the present occupants. However implementing this in Makoko would be complicated. The Olaiya family owns the land and rents it on a leasehold basis however the lagoon belongs to the federal government, meaning that the occupants are living there without consent.152 Additionally Agbola and Agunbiade also observed that the three major ethnic groups of the Ilajes, Eguns and Ijaws153 had a collective leasehold title, which was sub-leased to other group members. Working out whom legally owns the land would be challenging and could cause disruptive land disputes similar to when the British imposed their land laws on the Lagos customary law.

Davis, Planet of Slums, 80.

Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 98.

152 Ibid.

153 Ibid., 99.

150 151

57

21

Building & Materials

Figure 5.22 Typical construction sequence

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 5.25 Process of construction

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

58

Urban Sustainability

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

Urbanisation Makoko is described by Adeyemi as an example of “maximum urbanisation with minimum means.”154 It is a highly dense urbanised area although it has no roads or infrastructure. The locals have with little or no government support gradually created an urban system that expresses a mixture of social relations, economics, architecture and spatial interactions that “collectively push at the frontiers of urbanism.”155 This supports Turner’s praise of the innovation and communal self-organization of squatter communities.

The relationship between the buildings and the site is maximised. The compact nature of the community and high density has meant that there is a range of benefits such as smaller travel distances because of the mixture of uses and amenities, which will be further analysed later.

Building and Materials John Turner’s self-build principles are evident in Makoko’s urbanism. Yadua in her study of the housing types in Makoko found that there are 3 dominant housing typologies in the community: plank/ bamboo buildings, in fills and old brick residential buildings. 52% of Makoko residents reside in plank or bamboo houses,156 simple structures constructed on stilts rising 4-6ft above the water level to help prevent flooding. As the community grows solid waste is used to create landfill, to make a more secure construction in the swamped areas. The plots are filed with sawdust to remove the smell and then covered with sand.157 A range of materials are used to build including thatch, bamboo, hessian sacks, zinc, plastic and rubber.

The majority are sustainably sourced or salvaged; the wood, bamboo and fabrics used are all locally obtained or recycled and there is very little use of cement blocks and glass in the building. For instance the bamboo is both affordable and easily available; it is used to create ventilated walls.158 As well as working in the local sawmills, Makoko’s inhabitants use the wood produced, buying most of it according to Noah.159 It is used to build houses and canoes, and for activities such as smoking fish. This produces a sustainable economy, with local businesses providing jobs as well as materials thus keeping travel distances low and the environmental damage of construction minimal.

Roofs are usually traditionally made of thatch but those built more recently are made of tin as it is less likely to catch fire, is cheap, easily sourced and very malleable. Tin roofs are a usual and almost emblematic sight

Adeyemi, “African Watercities,” 101.

“Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 21.

156 Yadua, “Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos,” 71.

157 “BBC Two - Welcome to Lagos, Episode 2.”

158 “Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 20.

159 Noah, Noah Shemede, Phone interview with author.

154 155

59

22

Density

MAKOKO

Photography : Ade Adekola MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

2

60

1A CHALLENGES AND CONDITIONS

50

40

%

30

20

Photography: Ade Adekola MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

12

10

1D PROJECT LOCATION AND ACCESS

-3

3-5 6-7 8+

Household size 60

50

40

%

Photography: Ade Adekola

30

Figure 5.26, 5.27 & 5.28 Aerial views 20 of Makoko

MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project 10

-3

Figure 5.29 Household sizes- average of 6-7 persons

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

3-5 6-7 8+

Household size

60

46

Household sizes- field study 2010, Yadua, p 77

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

in squatter settlements. As Peil describes “their widespread use makes West African cities look like vast expanses of rust.”160 Zinc covers steel plates that are corrugated making them rigid in one direction and flexible in the other. The corrugation prevents leakage, but this material can only be used in warm climates as it has no thermal capacities and is also very noisy in rainy seasons.

According to Adeyemi, there is very intelligent architectural design in what looks to be crude buildings.

Despite having no formal planning rules or standards the building typology of Makoko has come as a result of “generations of trial and error and the subsistence cultivation of the built environment.” 161 As Noah says the result is that buildings have long lifespans, lasting for 20-40 years.

Each home is built individually yet with a collective purpose. A separation is maintained between the houses creating water lanes that allow the canoes to move through; similarly narrow footbridges allow pedestrian movement. The waterways act as a street to form the umbilical cord of the community.

Most of the structures are on one level creating a human scale to the buildings and facilitating interaction between the inhabitants. The interior and exterior spaces have permeability and there is flexibility to the design of the buildings, a feature of sustainable built form.

There is also very low energy consumption within the community because of the physical configuration and layout of the buildings. Their east-west orientation reduces solar heat gain while capturing the prevalent southwest winds, and terraces usually face the north for maximum shade. The water provides free cooling for the houses in the heat of the sun, especially as many do not have electricity for air conditioners.

D ensity Though density is encouraged in the physicality of sustainable design, overcrowding162 is not. Overcrowding is defined as “when there are more than two people for each room in the house.”163 As with most slums there is major overcrowding in Makoko. The community has a density of 713 people per hectare, this is unsurprising as between eight to ten families can live in one house sharing common cooking and sanitation facilities164 and “one room will sleep an average of six to 10 people.”165 The majority of households

Peil, Lagos, 140.

“Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 21.

162 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf,” 17.

163 Ibid., 15.

164 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 6.

165 Vidal, “March 05: John Vidal’s Photo Journal | Makoko Slums and Sawmills. Lagos, Nigeria.”

160 161

61

23

Infrastructure

ACCESS

MAKOKO

MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

Figure 5.30 Key services and access

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project 2F WATER SUPPLY, STORAGE AND TREATMENT SYSTEMS

developed. Noah Shemede, a community figure, points out that there are no government agencies involved in water distribution in Makoko, forcing residents to solve the problems themselves. Many inhabitants already begin to collect rain water shortly after the rains start.

He also suggests that boreholes, which pump clean, fresh groundwater from 40 – 50 meters below ground level to the surface, should be installed throughout Makoko.

Sources: Femi, Akinola “Lagos: Water everywhere, none to drink”. Weekly Photography: Trust. 10 Sep. 2011, Lagos.

NLÉ Ebenezer,Adurokiya.

Figure 5.31 & 5.32“Aphibious Residents of Makoko”. Saturday MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT 102 Tribune. 05 Jun 2010,Lagos.

Drinking water comes from boreholes or is sold by venders Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

62

Photography: NLÉ

Ebutte-Metta Market Areas Universities Schools Train Station Accesses 48

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

comprise of 4-6 people and there is a relationship between the density and social and cultural norms. In Lagos, the average number for births, of women over the age of 45 is 6.2.166 However overcrowding creates problems such as poor sanitation, which is evident in Makoko. For instance though small enclosures attached to some buildings are used as toilets and bathrooms, approximately 15 households can share communal toilets, which are basically pits built on firmer ground.167

Infrastructure Another aspect of urbanism is infrastructure. This is where the government could execute Turners sitesand-services schemes, as there is very little infrastructure to support the masses of people in Makoko.

Power is a major problem in Lagos, “the city receives a tenth of the power it requires, blackouts are frequent and thousands of noisy, expensive diesel generators pollute the air.”168 In Makoko cables looped over the roofs supply power to the community.

“It is speculated that about 5% of the community obtains electricity by paying those on land with electric meters to draw electricity from the main power grid, while 19% use generators, and the rest use candles and lanterns. At the same time, illegal connections are rampant in Makoko community.”169 Despite being surrounded by water, very little is drinkable because of the waste dumped in the water.

Locals rely on boreholes for water or buy jerry cans from hawkers for N20 ($0.13).170 Some have to paddle up to 3km to get to boreholes, which pump fresh water from below ground. They are charged N10- N30 ($0.06- $0.19) per bucket.171 Some locals have already started collecting rainwater172 adding to the selfsustaining nature of the community. Furthermore water is also reused for cleaning, bathing and other purposes.

Zoning In relation to space and zoning, there are no kerbs in Makoko, pedestrian movement is through elevated walkways made from narrow planks of wood that form small passageways between shacks. Space is

Peil, Lagos, 97.

Vidal, “March 05: John Vidal’s Photo Journal | Makoko Slums and Sawmills. Lagos, Nigeria.”

168 Fletcher, “Lagos: The Audacity of Huge,” 17.

169 “Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf,” 94.

170 Ibid., 105.

171 Ibid., 107.

172 Ibid., 105.

166 167

63

24

Zoning

Figure 5.33 Organisation and alignment of buildings Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

64

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

maximized by condensing the buildings together, this works with the high density that the population faces.

The zoning in Makoko though seemingly unordered is quite rigid. They straddle a line between private and public, and accommodate diverse functions that change depending on the time and needs of the users thereby making Makoko a highly kinetic community. For example the waterways also form market ways, with sellers peddling their goods from their canoes. The water becomes a stage for social interaction.

Makoko follows the compact city model, of high residential density with mixed land usage. The buildings are not only residential but house everything the settlement needs including shops, hostels, schools, churches and more. This means that the community doesn’t need to go outside of the neighbourhood, as it is selfsufficient and it fosters an environment of social interaction.

T ransport Transport is key to sustainable living. Makoko has managed to avoid one of Lagos’s biggest problems: traffic congestion. The city is plagued by long traffic queues that can hold its drivers prisoner for hours on end. Nonetheless Makoko’s waterways do not suffer from this problem, “here the sound of an automobile is a strange phenomenon.”173 The water is the infrastructure: both locals and visitors use canoes, as transport and there is little problem of congestion as the buildings are proportionally spaced to allow the canoes to move between them freely. Local craftsmen carve the wooden canoes, which are called “Okos.”174 Each house has its own canoe; the large ones are used to fish and the small ones are used inshore.

The locals have as close to a carbon neutral lifestyle as is possible, firstly because of the use of canoes.

Secondly they live and work in the same area and the services they need are provided within the compact community, so the length of journeys is greatly reduced. An additional benefit is the open nature of the form of transport encourages communication between the residents of the lagoon.

Water and waste The lagoon is “regarded as one of the most productive aquatic ecosystems in the world, and is of great socio-economic importance to Lagos.”175 The water is the lifeblood of the community “here water is infrastructure, and a canoe is a primary asset for mobility, commerce and industry.”176 The locals live

“Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 19.

Fletcher, “Lagos: The Audacity of Huge,” 14.

175 “Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf,” 61.

176 “Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 20.

173 174

25

65

Transport

Figure 5.34 Canoes are the primary form of transport

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 5.35 Canoes are used by all the residents Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.36 Boat building

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

66

Figure 5.37 Canoes are the primary from of transport Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.38 The buildings are spaced to allow canoes to move through Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.39 Constructing a canoe Source: Noah Shemede

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

symbiotically with the lagoon however there is environmental damage as a result of the dumping of waste in the water and the use of sawdust.

A major sustainability issue in Makoko is sanitation and waste management but the whole city faces this problem. There is a 430 mgd (million gallon daily) supply gap in the amount of wastewater generated in Lagos, amounting to 71% of the demand.177 Moreover there is no central sewage system, so most wastewater is discharged into open gutters in front of houses or on the street and is eventually washed into the water bodies by rain.178The inadequate waste management system means that government approved operators collect only 42% of waste and 11% is dumped in authorized areas.179 In Makoko all the wastewater, kitchen waste, polythene bags etc. go directly into the water. This creates an environmental hazard. Though the community believes it is sustainable, saying that they are reducing carbon emissions with their lifestyle, there is an environmental cost to the ecology of the Lagoon. The untreated sewage pollutes the lagoon, which then affects food source, increases the risk of waterborne diseases and damages aquatic life. The practice of using sawdust and waste to create land is also said to increase the water table and cause flooding in other parts of Lagos.

“Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf,” 55.

Ibid., 53.

179 World Bank, Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project.

177 178

67

26

Water and Waste

1E SANITATION, SEWAGE AND WASTE DISPOSAL

Photography: Bichop MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL â&#x20AC;&#x201D; AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

Figure 5.40 The households waste is dumped into the water Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 5.41 A Makoko waterway Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.42 Children playing in the water

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01 68

54

Economic Sustainability

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

Jobs, ind ustries and M icro Eco no m ics Makoko’s economic model of fits de Soto’s image. The majority of individuals in Makoko are informally employed or self-employed and the main occupations are fishing and trading.

The men fish in the lagoon at night and provide more than a third of Lagos’s fish.180 This economic activity is one of the reasons they do not want to be relocated saying that by living close to the sea they can monitor the weather, but they are starting to lose their livelihoods as depleting supplies means they have to row further to find fish.

Timber is the other major industry in Makoko. The proximity to the Ebute Metta sawmills located near the Third Mainland Bridge is key to this. The sawmills are typically family owned and run by the wives.181 These enterprises supply most of Lagos’s timber, so contribute to the wider economy. Living close to where they work keeps the community insular and compact and encourages a vibrant micro economy.

Most of the women are market traders, using the waterways to hawk their wares. They sell the fish their husbands catch and peddle everything from palm oil to drinking water, and even hot snacks cooked on small fires on the boats. They also use buildings for commercial purposes.

Locals complain182 that there are no jobs for the youth. The proportion of unemployed people in Makoko is 26%.183 This leads to some joining the area boys, which is one of the biggest worries for residents, as well as the high rate of teenage pregnancy.184 De Soto advocates the informal economies of slums as the solution to poverty nevertheless in Makoko the average monthly household income is N15773 ($133).185 Most of its dwellers 57.5% earn less than N5000 per month186 ($31.59) meaning that the majority “can be categorized as poor as they live on less than $1 per day which is the global poverty line by the United Nations.” 187 Titling is encouraged by de Soto as a way to alleviate poverty through the “formal incorporation into the official city.”188 This, he argues, would allow them to have access to credit and the cities market economy

Adeyemi, “African Watercities,” 101.

“BBC Two - Welcome to Lagos, Episode 2.”

182 Ayoola, “Earth File: Living in Makoko, the Venice of Lagos - YouTube.”

183 “Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria,” 12.

184 “Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf,” 28.

185 Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 92.

186 Yadua, “Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos,” 71.

187 Ibid., 77.

188 Davis, Planet of Slums, 80.

180 181

27

69

Micro-Economics MAKOKO

Iwaya

60

50

40

%

30

20 Photography : NLĂ&#x2030;

Figure 5.43 Trading is a major occupation in Makoko

MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL â&#x20AC;&#x201D; AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

10

4

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

N10,000 N25,000 +N50,000 - N5000 N5000 - N10,000 - N25,000 - N50,000

Income level

Figure 5.46 Income level

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

Figure 5.44 Fishing is the main occupation Source: Katie Mark

63%

56%

Fishing

Trading

35%

6%

Others

Civil Service

Figure 5.47 Makoko residents occupation

Adapted from Agbola, Tunde and Agunbiade, Elijah M. Urbanization, slum development and security of tenure: the challenges of meeting millenium development goal 7 in metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria

32%

Informal

Figure 5.45 Wood from the sawmills

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project. php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

19%

Unemployed

Formal

19%

Student

10%

Retired

Figure 5.48 Employment status

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

72 ha

Area

713 people per hectare 70

20%

Extends 1/2 mile into lagoon

Estimated population- 175.535

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

and increases tax revenue. Davis criticizes this approach explaining that regularisation without “decisive public intervention in real-estate markets”189 is ineffective. As whilst it gives an increased asset to owners, it out prices renters increasing social differentiation.

Schools and Education There are very few schools in the squatter settlement. The local children attend the primary schools for 4 years before they are encouraged to join the schools on the mainland, but few do, as they are afraid of the mainland. Though people see the Makoko slum as a volatile and dangerous place, the residents believe life outside the community is dangerous because of the riots and the roads.190 The outcome, as Yadua discovered, is that the majority of residents have primary school education but few have more than that.

This is not in line with MDG 2 for universal primary education.

The schools in Makoko are built by grassroots organisations instead of the government. Kunlé Adeyemi with the help of the Heinrich Boll Stiftung organization has cooperated with the locals to design and build a floating school. There are also systems in place such as providing fishing nets for the fish farmers, however Agbola and Agunbiade established that very often the nets don’t reach the target groups. This fits with Davis’s reasoning that while the 1990 s World Bank strategy of pushing Third World governments to involve Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) in poverty reduction the outcome produces “local success stories, it leaves the vast majority of the poor behind.”191 This is because these organisations often become bureaucratic with a short-term outlook; they suffer from a lack of funding and a have reduced accountability to the individuals. The result is a gap between the promise and need.192

Healthcare Davis also critiques Turners self-help, social capital mantra, asserting that consequentially the government abdicates its responsibility to its citizens to provide necessary services such as healthcare. This can be seen in Makoko where there are no doctors or health clinics. The nearest hospital is 5km away from most people193 and even the public hospitals in Lagos require payment in return for care. The vast majority of people instead use traditional doctors, making them an important element to the community. However this

Ibid., 81.

Ayoola, “Earth File: Living in Makoko, the Venice of Lagos - YouTube.”

191 Davis, Planet of Slums, 79.

192 Ibid.

193 Vidal, “March 05: John Vidal’s Photo Journal | Makoko Slums and Sawmills. Lagos, Nigeria.”

189 190

71

28

Education and Healthcare

30%

28%

Tertiary

Primary

22%

20%

Secondary

Technical

Figure 5.49 Education level

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

Figure 5.50 & 5.51 Premises of the school where Noah Shemede is Headteacher Source: Noah Shemede

Figure 5.52 Children in class Source: Katie Mark

72

Figure 5.53 Makoko school

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Theory 2: Sites-and -Services

means that diseases can be left untreated and spread. The prevalent diseases are Malaria194 and Tuberculosis. International organisations then have to fill this gap, for instance Medecins Sans Frontieres opened the first health centre in Makoko with the aim of only being there for two years.

“Nigeria: Providing Care in the Slums of Lagos | Doctors Without Borders,” December 1, 2010, http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=4892&cat=field-news.

194

73

29

Conclusion:

The future of Makoko

Slum of hope or despair?

75

Figure 6.1 Fishing is part of the informal economy of Makoko Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.2 Fishing is part of the informal economy of Makoko Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.3 Young child

Source: http://treymujak.com/portfolio-2/makoko-gallery/

76

Conclusion

Conclusion: The future of Makoko, slum of hope or despair?

“The idea is to turn this burgeoning mega city into a viable and sustainable urban scheme- without inflicting injuries on its social, cultural and ecological dimensions- rather than allow it to degenerate into a mega-slum of despair.”195 At first glance Makoko fits the description of a slum; “a heavily populated urban area characterized by

substandard housing and squalor.”196 A closer study reveals a highly organized system, with social hierarchies and simple building methods that are adapted to the environment and culture.

Nevertheless the community is under threat from a variety of agents. Whether it is the government, the increasing levels of poverty or changing climate, the future of the community is uncertain. A summary of the types of strategies that can help the community achieve the Millennium Development goals and have a more certain future will be presented to conclude.

Goal 7- Environmental sustainability Makoko can be seen as a sustainable urban community with its own “series of self- regulatory systems”197 and “ingenious, alternate systems” 198 that are well adapted to the rapidly changing world. In terms of the ideals of sustainable urbanism, the community fits the model of a compact city: high density, diversity and a vibrant economy. These bring a range of advantages both social: “better quality of life due to more social interaction, community spirit and cultural vitality-”199 and environmental: “per capita levels of resources and wastes.” 200 Having easy access to most urban facilities that help daily life and to their occupation helps Makoko’s residents achieve a form of social equity. Furthermore their sustainable mode of transport and way of life has very little impact on the environment.

However activities such as dumping waste and sand-filling the lagoon have environmental costs, as this pollutes and damages the ecology of the lagoon. Nevertheless this could be disputed as minor in relation to their small carbon footprint.

Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” 243.

The Challenge of Slums, 8.

197 Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” 246.

198 Ibid.

199 Jenks and Jones, Dimensions of the Sustainable City, 8.

200 Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” 243.

195 196

30

77

Figure 6.4 Preparing the nets

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 6.5 The buildings house services such as Barbers Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.6 Children are also traders in Makoko Source: Katie Mark

78

Conclusion

Turner and de Soto would argue that slum communities like Makoko are self-sufficient but this attitude may result in the government abdicating its responsibility to its citizens. For instance the government implementing basic infrastructure and services could solve the problems of waste management.

Conversely looking for help from the administration is difficult as the government views Makoko as a difficulty, one to be ignored and neglected. Frequently the problem is not urban growth rather it is that the city authorities lack “either the political will or resources to manage growth or adopt inappropriate and obsolete planning paradigms.”201 For the federal government to be truly responsible for its citizens and help the community then good governance is key.

This would involve long-term urban planning policies being put in place to make Lagos a megacity that includes the poor, instead of using the Haussmann technique of clearing slums. Master plans and urban development strategies such as the Megacity project should include affordable housing and be forward planning instead of playing a game of catch-up. These master plans can also incorporate the urban forms and innovation the Makoko settlement displays.

G oal 1- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger While we can admire the innovation of the Makoko residents the sad truth is that the majority live below the poverty line and lack basic infrastructure and other elements needed for liveability. As the Challenge of

Slums notes “poverty and slums are closely related and mutually reinforcing.”202 It is therefore important to apply strategies to reduce poverty in slums, but the approaches differ.

One method is to leave the community to continue as it is. As it could be said that though urban communities like this “concentrate poverty… they also represent the best hope of escaping it.”203 The UN describes slum dwellers as the “gold dust” of the city they bring kinetic energy, innovation and investment to the city. For example as governments do not invest much per person especially in these communities, the urban poor make the majority of investment and building.

“There is a perspective that African megacities still hold great potential for human vitality, creativity and productivity,”204 and slums such as Makoko can be seen as unrealized economic assets because their informal economies provide goods and services for the formal economy. For example Makoko supplies the

Ibid., 248.

The Challenge of Slums, 2.

203 “TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf,” 13.

204 Oluwole Ilesanmi, “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city,” 242.

201 202

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WHAYINNA NURSERY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Photography: NLÉ

Figure 6.7 A local school in Makoko

MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL — AFRICAN WATER CITIES PROJECT

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 6.8 Children in a school boat Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.9 A church service in Makoko

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

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141

Conclusion

majority of Lagos’ fish and wood. Moreover a vibrant micro economy thrives within Makoko, meaning that the residents hardly ever need to go out of the community.

In this vein de Soto maintains that the “poor are sitting on massive amounts of ‘dead capital’ that could be released and put to work by interventions including land rights and financing mechanisms.”205 This leads to pushing the legalization of land tenure. It could be reasoned that this would create stronger links between governments and communities and allow for long lasting investments from the community. Yet the issues of traditional land rights and the grantor grantee system as previously described would make executing this in Makoko problematic.

Despite the high poverty levels the community has no outside help because of its non-legal status and has little “dependence on public authorities or formal channels.”206 However it lacks even the most basic infrastructure or services, such as wastewater management, electricity or clean water supply. This is where John Turner’s sites and services theories could be practiced. The government would act as enablers providing these infrastructure and services whilst allowing the community to have the freedom to build.

Slum improvement schemes could improve living standard through providing infrastructural additions.

“Potential upgrading initiatives broaden the scope for effecting development and poverty reduction in a challenging ecological and policy environment.”207 These projects would have to be undertaken with the involvement of the community. To the credit of the current Lagos government they have begun implementing strategies such as the launching of the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project backed with a US$200 million World Bank loan approved in March 2006. Wider infrastructure programs such as improving drainage systems would help mitigate the effects of regular flooding in Makoko and therefore reduce the loss of economic activity.

The locals have an idea of what they want Makoko to become. As Noah says “the government should be proud of us and want to turn Makoko on water into a tourist destination.”208 The community continues to receive a lot of external interest, with celebrities like Ben Stiller visiting. The inhabitants feel that with a little investment the community could be turned into the Venice of Africa and be a self-sustaining tourist destination.

“TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf,” 13.

Tunde Agbola and Elijah M. Agunbiade, “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria,” 81.

207 “Perspectives_Cities_3.12.pdf,” 22.

208 Noah, Noah Shemede, Phone interview with author.

205 206

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Figure 6.10 & 6.11 Floating school built by Kunle Adeyemi(NLE architects) with the help of ith sponsoring from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Heinrich Boell Foundation and community involvement Source: http://www.archdaily.com/344047/makoko-floating-school-nle-architects/

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Conclusion

Goal 2- Achieve universal primary education Nigeria is said to have a “’dysfunctional’ or premature’”209 urbanisation, that does not have the growth in its economy to back it up so some argue that as the government doesn’t have the money to implement a lot of these schemes and grassroots organisations are the solution. In Makoko, there are several organisations that seek to promote the welfare of the citizens. The UNDP, NGO’s and even urbanists have been working in the community, building schools and health facilities. Noah explains that these bottom-up interventions from organisations and individuals do great work in the community, but he reasons that they cannot wait for help from outside. As Gandy puts it,

“Though informal networks and settlements may meet immediate needs for some, and determined forms of community organizing may produce measurable improvements, grassroots responses alone cannot coordinate the structural dimensions of urban development.”210 While theories of bottom up help and “self help and social capital” can be inspiring, the government should be aware of its responsibilities such as education and should take action. The dense urbanisation of Makoko means that the government can give maximum welfare to a large number of citizens at a low cost if it chooses to, but there seems to be little political will to do this. Universal primary education can only be achieved if the government makes this its policy.

Summary Megacities of developing countries and their shantytowns are a complex issue especially for Lagos, which has faced decades of neglect. Makoko’s residents live in an extreme condition yet their innovation and optimism can be an example for the rest of Lagos. Although slums are said to be the “physical and spatial manifestation of urban poverty,” improvement schemes should be people centred and go beyond the physicality of the place, addressing the issue of livelihoods of the populace and enabling the informal income sector to thrive. Methods that use Turner’s and de Soto’s ideas of facilitating the innovation of slum dwellers and Davis’ critic that the government should not turn away from its responsibilities would help the Makoko community meet the Millennium Development Goals. The best possible future for Makoko is one that uses a “holistic approach.”211 Involving integrated approaches that encompass the government, private investors, grassroots organisations and professionals working with the locals in an inclusive system to envisage the future development while using the frame of the present urban form. It is only then that Makoko can truly be a ‘slum of hope.’

“TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf,” 13.

“Learning from Lagos, Matthew Gandy.pdf,” 52.

211 “A Bottom-up Approach to Address Makoko’s Ills | Daily Independent,” February 25, 2013, http://dailyindependentnig.com/2013/02/a-bottom-up-approach-to-address-makokos-ills/.

209 210

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“BBC Two - Welcome to Lagos, Episode 2.” BBC. Accessed March 28, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s5x5w.

Daniel, Howden. “Lagos: Inside the Ultimate Mega-city - Africa - World - The Independent.” The Independent. Accessed March 11, 2013. http://www.independent. co.uk/news/world/africa/lagos-inside-the-ultimate-megacity-1945246.html.

Davis, Mike. Planet of Slums. USA: Verso, 2007.

Fletcher, Martin. “Lagos: The Audacity of Huge.” The Times, Eureka, May 2012.

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Jenks, Mike, and Colin Jones. Dimensions of the Sustainable City. London, New York: Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg, 2010.

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“Learning from Lagos, Matthew Gandy.pdf.” Accessed March 15, 2013. http:// www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/about-the-department/people/academics/matthew-gandy/ professor-matthew-gandy/files/NLR.pdf.

“Makoko Research Document_NLE.pdf.” Accessed March 16, 2013. http:// www.ng.boell.org/downloads/120420_Makoko_Research_Document_NLE.pdf.

“Makoko: A Lagos Venice in the Making, Articles | THISDAY LIVE,” August 5, 2012. http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/makoko-a-lagos-venice-in-themaking/121604/.

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Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos State Government. “Ikoyi-Victoria Island Model City Plan,” 2007.

Ndikanwu, Miriam. “The Nation - Why We’re Demolishing Makoko, by Fashola,” July 24, 2012. http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/54971why-we%E2%80%99re-demolishing-makoko,-by-fashola.html.

“Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.” Accessed March 30, 2013. http://www.fmf.gov.ng/theministry/management-team/honourable-minister.html.

“Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.” Accessed March 30, 2013. http://www.fmf.gov.ng/theministry/management-team/honourable-minister.html.

“Nigeria: Providing Care in the Slums of Lagos | Doctors Without Borders,” December 1, 2010. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article. cfm?id=4892&cat=field-news.

Noah, Shemede. Noah Shemede, Phone interview with author, March 22, 2013.

Oluwole Ilesanmi, Adetokunbo. “Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city.” Journal of Geography and Regional Planning 3, no. 10 (October 2010): 240–252.

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“TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf.” Accessed March 21, 2013. http://www. irinnews.org/pdf/in-depth/TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter1.pdf.

“TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf.” Accessed March 15, 2013. http://www. irinnews.org/pdf/in-depth/TomorrowsCrisesToday-Chapter3.pdf.

Tunde Agbola, and Elijah M. Agunbiade. “Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millenium Development Goal 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria.” In Urban Population-development-environment Dynamics in the Developing World: Case Studies and Lessons Learned, 77–104. CICRED, Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography, 2009.

“Urbanization, Slum Development and Security of Tenure: The Challenges of Meeting Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria. pdf.” Accessed March 15, 2013. http://www.cicred.org/pripode/CONF/NAIROBI/ pdf/Agunbiade-AGBOLAS_paperNairobi2007.pdf.

Vidal, John. “March 05: John Vidal’s Photo Journal | Makoko Slums and Sawmills. Lagos, Nigeria.” Guardian Unlimited, March 2005. http://www.guardian. co.uk/pictures/image/0,8543,-10105140983,00.html.

“Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria.” Accessed March 15, 2013. http:// siteresources.worldbank.org/INTURBANDEVELOPMENT/Resources/336387-1256566800920/6505269-1268260567624/Adelekan.pdf.

World Bank. Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project. Project Information Document, Appraisal Stage, 2006. www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/05/08/000104615_20060508 153648/Rendered/PDF/Project0Inform120060Appraisal0Stage.pdf.

Yadua, Omoayena. “Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos.” Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 14, no. 6 (2012): 71–83.

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Table of Figures Figure 1.1 Population of the 19 megacities of the world Adapted from Slums of the World

Figure 1.2 Proportion of urban population living in slums Adapted from The Challenge of Slums

Figure 1.3 Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Location and statistics Figure 1.4 36 states of Nigeria and Lagosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; location Adapted from Oluwole Ilesanmi, Adetokunbo, Urban Sustainabilty in the Context of Lagos Mega-city

Figure 1.5 Lagos location and statistics

Figure 2.1 Physical growth of Lagos Source: Matthew Gandy

Figure 2.2 Lagos population growth

Adapted from Peil, Margaret. Lagos: The City Is the People. London: Belhaven, 1991. & World Bank. Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project. Project Information Document, Appraisal Stage, 2006.

Figure 2.3 Lagos slum statistics Figure 2.4 Makoko google earth view Figure 2.5 Makoko location and statistics

Source: Makoko Research Document NLE

Figure 2.6 Aerial view of Makoko and the Third Mainland Bridge

Source: http://blogsvila.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/demolition-starts-at-makoko-slum.html

Figure 2.7 Aerial view of landside of Makoko and floating wood

Source: http://blogsvila.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/demolition-starts-at-makoko-slum.html

Figure 2.8 Aerial view of shacks surrounding the Third Mainland Bridge

Source: http://blogsvila.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/demolition-starts-at-makoko-slum.html

Figure 3.1 Area of Makoko under demolition Source: Makoko Research Document NLE

Figure 3.2 View of the electrical pylons near the development

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Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 3.3 Waste is dumped directly into the lagoon which is said to damage the ecology of lagoon Source: Heinrich-Bรถll-Stiftung

Figure 3.4 Example of sand filling the lagoon that is said to increase flooding in other parts of Lagos Source: http://blogsvila.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/demolition-starts-at-makoko-slum.html

Figure 3.5 & 3.6 Makoko residents protesting slum demolition Source: www.aafgallery.com/#!makoko-/cap2

Figure 3.7 & 3.8 Eko Atlantic city project Aerial view of land reclaimed from the sea

Source: http://www.ekoatlantic.com/media/image-gallery/#dp_lightbox[set_2]/27/

Figure 3.9 & 3.10 Eko Atlantic City project visualisations of the design concept

Source:http://www.ekoatlantic.com/media/image-gallery/#dp_lightbox[set_1]/10/

Figure 4.1 Projected flooding following a sea level rise of 1 metre Source: Makoko Research Project NLE

Figure 4.2 Mean rainstorm amount(mm) for Lagos Island (1971-2005)

Source: Adelekan, Ibidun O., Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria

Figure 4.3 Flood statistics of Lagos Figure 4.4 Makoko community

Source: www.aafgallery.com/#!makoko-/cap2

Figure 4.5, 4.6 & 4.7 Buildings in Makoko damaged by flooding in February 2012

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 5.1 Makoko statistics Figures 5.2, 5.3 & 5.4 Makoko locals

Source: http://treymujak.com/portfolio-2/makoko-gallery/

Figure 5.5, 5.6 & 5.7 People in Makoko

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 5.8 Noah Shemede, Ben Stiller and a local chief Source: Noah Shemede

Figure 5.9 Community life

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01 90

Figure 5.10 View of buildings on stilts

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 5.11 A local travels through the water Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.12 Residential status

Source: Adelekan, Ibidun O., Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria

Figure 5.13 Land procurement

Adapted from Agbola, Tunde and Agunbiade, Elijah M. Urbanization, slum development and security of tenure: the challenges of meeting millenium development goal 7 in metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria

Figure 5.14 & 5.15 The growth of Makoko, from 1981 to 2012 Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 5.16 Roofâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are made from tin or thatch Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.17 Interior spaces, are small and functional

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 5.18 A range of materials are used to build Source: Heinrich-BĂśll-Stiftung

Figure 5.19 Housing Typologies of Makoko

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

Figure 5.20 There is a permeability between the waterways and the buildings Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 5.21 Example of Bamboo and wood building

Source: http://treymujak.com/portfolio-2/makoko-gallery/

Figure 5.22 Typical construction sequence

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 5.25 Process of construction

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 5.26, 5.27 & 5.28 Aerial views of Makoko

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 5.29 Household sizes- average of 6-7 persons

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

Figure 5.30 Key services and access

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project 91

Figure 5.31 & 5.32 Drinking water comes from boreholes or is sold by venders Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 5.33 Organisation and alignment of buildings Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 5.34 Canoes are the primary form of transport

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 5.35 Canoes are used by all the residents Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.36 Boat building

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 5.37 Canoes are the primary from of transport Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.38 The buildings are spaced to allow canoes to move through Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.39 Constructing a canoe Source: Noah Shemede

Figure 5.40 The households waste is dumped into the water Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 5.41 A Makoko waterway Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.42 Children playing in the water

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 5.43 Trading is a major occupation in Makoko Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 5.44 Fishing is the main occupation Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.45 Wood from the sawmills

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 5.46 Income level

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

Figure 5.47 Makoko residents occupation

Adapted from Agbola, Tunde and Agunbiade, Elijah M. Urbanization, slum development and security of tenure: the challenges of meeting millenium development goal 7 in metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria 92

Figure 5.48

Employment status

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

Figure 5.49 Education level

Adapted from Yadua, Omoayena. Determinants of Urban Poor Housing Types in Makoko Area, Lagos

Figure 5.50 & 5.51 Premises of the school where Noah Shemede is Headteacher Source: Noah Shemede

Figure 5.52 Children in class Source: Katie Mark

Figure 5.53 Makoko school

Source: http://architectureindevelopment.org/project.php?id=173#!prettyPhoto

Figure 6.1 Fishing is part of the informal economy of Makoko Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.2 Fishing is part of the informal economy of Makoko Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.3 Young child

Source: http://treymujak.com/portfolio-2/makoko-gallery/

Figure 6.4 Preparing the nets

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 6.5 The buildings house services such as Barbers Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.6 Children are also traders in Makoko Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.7 A local school in Makoko

Source: NLE, Makoko Research Project

Figure 6.8 Children in a school boat Source: Katie Mark

Figure 6.9 A church service in Makoko

Source: http://janehahn.com/#/makoko-%28update-2012%29/Makoko_Nigeria_2012_01

Figure 6.10 & 6.11 Floating school built by Kunle Adeyemi(NLE architects) with the help of ith sponsoring from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Heinrich Boell Foundation and community involvement Source: http://www.archdaily.com/344047/makoko-floating-school-nle-architects/

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Appendices

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Phone Interview with Noah Shemede Hi Noah could I get your full name?

Hi my full name is Noah Shemede What is your occupation?

I am the head teacher of one of the schools on water How long have you lived in Makoko?

I was born there and have spent my whole life in Makoko, I’m now 26 years old How many people do you estimate live in Makoko?

More than 100,000 How are the communities divided, is it divided by leaders or by another method?

Makoko isn’t really divided into different leaders. The two parts of Makoko are Makoko on Land and Makoko on Water. On the Land side there are 3 leaders (chiefs as they are called) on the waterside there are 9 chiefs. The chiefs are the ones who make decisions, give orders and take care of the community. The main family on the land is the Olaiyi family and they have power over the ones on water.

Where do most people that live in Makoko come from?

Most people are born and brought up on the water, like myself, however those that migrate into the community come from within Nigeria, some from Badagari, in Lagos state, or from Egun state. Very few migrate from the Benin republic. People move into the community because fishing is their occupation. My family has been in Makoko for 6 generations.

What is your attitude to the government?

They say they want to develop the place, but they only come to Makoko when its time to vote. They come to mobilise the people but they don’t come back afterwards. When it comes to population census’s they don’t want to include us they even say that we are not part of Nigeria. That’s

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why they demolished the houses on the water last year, thank God it was only I would say about 2%.

I feel that they should be proud of us and want to turn Makoko on water into a tourist destination. They community is vibrant. You can get everything here. The hawkers sell fish and rice and they cook. We get a lot of visitors from abroad, from America, Britain. I’m a tour guide too, I take them on tours round, and they are very interested in us.

Do you think the community needs help and where do you think it should come from?

Firstly I think that if the government doesn’t want to help, then people from abroad that want to help won’t really be able to. We already have people and organisations doing things in Makoko. An American established the school I work at. The UNDP built another school here. People come here and volunteer to teach. It would be good if international and private organisations come and do something, but how will it look, hopefully it will make the government ashamed. We can’t wait for help from people from outside, what’s the government doing with all the money?

You know Ben Stiller, the actor? He came to visit here; he’s my best friend.

How many rooms would you say there are in the average Makoko house?

It depends on if they are one storey or two storey, but the house I live in now, we have 6 rooms and one big parlor. I think its common to have 2 rooms and 1 big parlor.

I read that they are a lot of young people unemployed in the community, is that true?

On the landside there are young people unemployed but for people on the water fishing is their job. We are a self-employed. The husbands’ fish and wives sell the fish in town. The parents just construct a boat for their child and they can fish.

What about the sawmills, do they provide jobs?

The sawmills are close to the Third Mainland Bridge, which is the longest

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bridge in Lagos. I’m not sure about jobs but we buy lots of wood from there. I think we buy most of their wood. It’s used to construct houses, boats, smoke fish and lots of other things.

Who builds the houses in Makoko?

People build their own houses, and we do it well. The houses last for 20, 30, 40 years, they last a long time.

How do you get permission to build your house?

If you want to build a house, for your son or daughter, you find a site, speak to the chief and he will follow you to the site. You don’t pay them for the site, but you get them warm snapps, cola nuts or something like that. There isn’t enough space at the moment.

Do people rent?

People don’t rent That’s fantastic thank you for your help Your welcome Interview conducted on 22 March 2013

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Makoko notice of Eviction

“You have continued to occupy and develop shanties and unwholesome structures on the waterfront without authority thereby constituting environmental nuisance, security risks, impediments to economic and gainful utilization of the waterfront such as navigation, entertainment, recreation etc.

“The state government is desirous of restoring the amenity and value of waterfront, protect lives and property, promote legitimate economic activities on the waterfront, restore security, improve water transportation and beautify the Lagos waterfront/coastline to underline the megacity status of Lagos State and has decided to clear all illegal and unauthorised development on its waterfront and water bodies.

“Therefore, notice is hereby given to you to vacate and remove all illegal developments along the Makoko/Iwaya Waterfront within 72 hours of receipt of this notice.”

Signed by Akin Tijani, on behalf of the Commissioner of Waterfront 12th July 2012

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