Compound city: social, economic, and environmental impact in the production of generative urban space
Nathan A. Jones
Syracuse University Bachelor of Architecture Thesis
Advisors Bess Krietemeyer Joseph Godlewski
introduction key terms
"Compound City" will focus on the implementation of an open source, social infrastructure, as a methodology in addressing the on-going urban crisis in Lagos. Dealing primarily with urban informality, Lagos will serve as a theoretical testbed, providing a natural precedent in which to test these ideas. How can open source technologies - softwares & hardwares - subvert or embrace existing infrastructures/processes as a means of alleviating inadequate living conditions? Identifying the coincidental pressures in Lagos will help establish project parameters, driving the development of design criteria to be addressed by the new, open source, platform.
OPEN SOURCE a digital phenomenon describing the processes in which software (and source code) is made freely available, and may be modified and redistributed under a common “license”.
ORGANIZATION SPACE a framework of architecture focusing on the temporal, relational, and generally dynamic conditions defining a complex spatial system; allowing such a framework to respond to complex crises that prototypical modes of urban development cannot.
INFORMAL SETTLEMENT is the spontaneous settlement or occupation of abandoned or otherwise SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE typically refers generunoccupied areas of land or existing structures; these communities typically found at the periphery ally to a class of internet services which allow the integration of social functionality for web sites and of major cities. devices (mobile or otherwise). In service of the theFORMAL INSTITUTION a structure or mechanism of sis, the concept of social integration remains intact, social order which governs and guides the behavior, but now refers to the integration of social processorganization, and production of a given community es and organizations into a regulated open source and/or population; i.e. regulative forces often of a framework. legal definition. INFORMAL ORGANIZATION the interlocking social CUSTOMARY LAND OWNERSHIP refers to the cus- structure that governs the means by which people toms or typical land use practices associated with a work together; the aggregate of social and economic particular culture or society; in this case, referring to relationships, both personal and professional, built upon common organizational affiliation. “Organizatraditional practices of land ownership in Nigeria. tion” consists of dynamic personal relationships, STATUTORY PLANNING refers to the formal regu- social networks, and groups of common interest; lation and management of changes to land use and as a result the informal organization is capable of development; such regulation is overseen by various evolving, shifting to serve the complex dynamics of government bodies - typically local councils - who its constituents. assess the general compliance of changes proposed. TOP DOWN referring to a hierarchical structure or process where the establishment of control, direction, and organization are subject to a singular, central, authoritative power; progressing from the large, basic authoritative unit, to smaller and increasingly detailed subunits.
"...scholars often think about similarity and difference when studying wealthier and poorer countries, such comparisons tend to remain within a narrow comparative geographic scope between contexts in the USA and Europe as the centre of discussions." (Ikioda, 2013)
LAGOS population 22,000,000 density 57,010/sq mi
Nigeria population 174,507, 539 density 489.3/sq mi
How will architects establish the tools, infrastructures, and institutions for new global ecologies?
fig. 1 fig. 2
Global Map: Africa highlighted. Global Map: Africa, with Nigeria highlighted.
"The major factor that has attracted population to the city has been the greatly enhanced socio-economic and political status of the city within the Nigerian Federation... Important state ministries had their headquarters in Lagos and in turn both business and commercial enterprises tended to locate their headquarters in the city." (Abiodun, 1974)
Ifako-ljaye
Agege Ikeja Kosofe
Alimosho
OshodiIsolo
Mushin
Shomolu Lagos Mainland
Surulere
CAPITAL
Ojo Ajeromilfelodun Apapa Amuwo Odofin
Lagos Island
s oy
r th es in
NORTH Hausas “Mid-Westerners�
Ibos
Yoruba WEST
There exists an intense migration into lagos - the greatest number of these migrants belonging to the Yorubas of the Western State.
EAST
fig. 8 fig. 9
Satellite imagery of Lagos state, overlayed with regional boundaries and names. Satellite imagery of Nigeria, overlayed with migration information based on tribal affiliation and region.
Industry
built up area
proposed co
1
"The temporary housing provided in Surulere became permanent as it became impossible for many of the displace population to reacquire and redevelop their plots in the central city..." (Abiodun, 1974) 8
0
1
1
The layering of population displacement, low wages, and increasing migration, coincidentally generated informal settlement and expansion.
fig. 10
Left: showing government planned development schemes circa 1974. Arrows indicate pattern of resident displacement to mainland periphery, and intented re-settlement.
fig. 11
Right: same government schemas (1974). Red indicates all currently documented areas of settlements; the intention to reveal the contrast between what was planned, and what actually developed.
7 Abiodun, Josephine Olu. “Urban Growth and Problems in Metropolitan Lagos� Urban Study 11 (1974): 341347. Print. Online. Accessed 11.4.2013. doi: 10.1080/00420987420080601.
0
"Nigerian cities are becoming more and more characterized by urban sprawl to the extent that distances between places of residence and other life-supporting activities such as work, school and shopping centres are increasingly out of walking distance. This thereforE entails motorization" (Akinbamiand Fadare, 1997)
Agege Ikeja
Int. Airport
12 mi
OshodiIsolo Lagos Mainland
8 mi Ojo Alaba Int. Market
13 mi
Apapa
Port
"As the urban areas sprawl at their peripheries and the core areas break down with the burden from increasing demand for social services by the population, they consequently become homes of the poor, and the sites and sources of environmental pollution." (Braimoh and Onishi)
wn n, vi-
14
7
A large percent - around 40% - live between 10 - 12 miles distance from the city center, forcing many to own vehicles or commute by bus.
3.5
1.75
.85
fig. 14
Left: Map of Lagos vehicle transportation infrastructure, including distances between the port, Alaba Int. Market, and the airport.
fig. 15
Right: Map of Lagos vehicle transportation infrastructure in contrast to documented areas of settlement; measured is distance in miles from city center.
10 Akinbami, J.F.K. and Fadare, S.O.. “Strategies for sustainable urban and transport development in Nigeria� Transport Policy 4.4 (1997): 237-245. Print. Accessed 11.4.2013. PII: S0967-070X(97)00022-X.
"Lagos...have become victims of traffic congestions...traffic volumes up to 100,000 vehicles/day are still recorded for some main routes...traffic congestion has associated with it some socio-economic consequences such as loss of manhours, and health problems which cannot be easily quantified... “There is a considerable emission of pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO2) carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and the nitrogen oxide family (NOx) from vehicles in major urban centres...60% of total gasoline and diesel consumption in Nigeria takes place in Lagos..." (Akinbami and Fadare, 1997) Alimosho
Ifako-ljaye
Ifako-ljaye
Agege
Agege Ikeja
Alimosho
OshodiMushin Isolo
OshodiIsolo
Surulere
Ojo
Ojo Ajeromilfelodun
Ajer lfelo
Apa Amuwo Odofin Amuwo Odofin
a
Ikeja Kosofe
shin
Shomolu Mushin Lagos Mainland
lere
Kosofe
Shomolu Lagos Mainland
Surulere
AjeromilfelodunTheLagos result of high Lagosvehicle densi-
ty,Island and severe congestion; the Island Apapa Apapa socio-economic impact of which cannot be easily quatified.
"With the drastic fall of oil prices in 1986, the macroeconomic reform program popularly known as the structural adjustment program (SAP) was introduced... public housing that was produced was only available to workers after considerable subsidies from the government. SAP led to a sharp increase in the cost of building materials. Similarly, the cost of property maintenance skyrocketed, whilst landlords also increased house rents."(Braimoh and Onishi) fig. 16
Satellite imagery of Lagos state: diagrammed is the flow of traffic into the city, indicating a “bottleneck” effect resulting in congestion.
11 Akinbami, J.F.K. and Fadare, S.O.. “Strategies for sustainable urban and transport development in Nigeria” Transport Policy 4.4 (1997): 237-245. Print. Accessed 11.4.2013. PII: S0967-070X(97)00022-X.
"Inadequate housing leading to the emergence of slums, spatial inequity in access to land and infrastructure, haphazard land development, infrastructure decay, incessant flooding, widespread poverty and unemployment are some of the symptoms of unsustainable expansion of the city requiring the intervention of land use planners and managers." (Braimoh and Onishi)
slum generation overpopulation (policy)
(congestion)
(industry)
(migration)
(access)
(drainage)
(waste)
(pollution)
(flooding)
fig. 18
Above: Flowchart mapping the various coincidental forces generating conditions of congestion, and thus strain.
fig. 19-20
Right: Images acting in sequence (from top to bottom right): vehicular and pedestrian congestion on main roads, poorly constructed and maintained off roads, flooding as a result of improper drainage and waste pile up.
(strain)
simply put: overpopulation due to migration, land use policy, motorization, and limited resources have pushed Lagos' infrastructures to their limits.
"Findings during the study showed that flooding problems in Lagos are anthropogenic...This might be counterintuitive, given the general perception that climate change is bound to have resulted in increasing rainfall..." (Adeyole and Rustum)
)
overpopu
(migration)
slum gen
(policy) (industry)
(congestion)
(str
(quality of life)
)
rpopulation
m generation
(access)
(drainage)
(strain)
(flooding) (waste)
(pollution)
various conditions plaguing Lagos are interconnected, acting out a continuous cycle. Which conditions can architecture Explicitly address in order to remedy the deterioration of Lagos?
fig. 21
“Existing� flowchart: impact of social, economic, and political forces acting upon each other; generating new and continuous conditions.
"...stated by Ibrahim Babangida: 'We have no faith in the strategy of concentrating most investments in urban areas with the hope that benefits would later trickle down to rural areas, because they rarely do. In fact, in the Nigerian case, resources tend to filter upwards leaving the rural areas even poorer.'(Ogunjumo and Salami, 1990)"(Akinbami and Fadare, 1997)
"Hence a bottom-up development strategy which involves the rural dwellers and peasants in the development planning and implementation should be adopted." (Akinbami and Fadare, 1997)
What methodology would a "bottom-up development strategy" employ? how could an infrastructure make use of "dwellers and peasants" in the development of Lagos?
fig. 22
Still from Welcome To Lagos: A scavenger known as “Slender� takes a morning shower prior to beginning his work in the dump; the dump is where he both lives and earns his
phenomenon
(proximity)
(marketplace)
"Marketplaces in Lagos may although appear disorganised and seemingly chaotic, but they still potentially reveal important interconnections that can inform and illuminate theories on retailing and consumption in new and exciting ways." (Ikioda, 2013)
"Formal" vs "Informal" western idea of economy
Lagosian economy
centralized
decentralized Left: Diagram illustrating the occurance of informal markets and economies as a direct result of congestion, or proximity. fig. 24 Above: Diagrams illustrating the dynamics of centralized, and decentralized systems of organization. fig. 23
understanding Lagos' organizations - in part - as a complex series of social infrastructures.
"can you do it on your own?" "we can, but we also need the government. there are a lot of things we cannot do it on our own. we cannot build the roads on our own. We cannot generate electricity on our own. The telephone system and new networks are monopolized by government." welcome to Lagos
What is needed is a regulative foundation that provides communities with a stable platform for growth.
"Developing and installing modern and cheap telecommunication systems offers great potential as an alternative to physical movement." (Akinbami and Fadare, 1997) are there existing platforms or technologies capable of operating as "bottom up" social forums?
fig. 36
Still from Lagos Wide and Close: A woman waits patiently for her call to go through - telecommunication services are inconsistant, and reserved mostly for government use.
"WikiHouse is an open source construction set. The aim is to allow anyone to design, download, and print CNC-milled houses and components, which can be assembled with minimal formal skill or training."
1 3 5 7 WikiHouse is capable of providing the design, distribution, and assured quality of low cost homes. This is achieved by taking advantage of freely available softwares and technologies.
2 4 6 8 Left: Image illustrating parts layout for any given WikiHouse model - these sheets typically come in .svg format, and are ready for immediate mill use. fig. 38 Above: Diagram illustrating the 8 steps to building a WikiHouse. Accessed 9.14.2013: http://www.wikihouse.cc/. fig. 37
design
RECYCLE
build
DESIGN FOR CLIMATE, CULTURE, ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT, and SAFEty.
DESIGN CHEAP, LOW CARBON, RECYCLABLE, BIODEGRADABLE, SOLUTIONS.
DESIGN TO DISMANTLE, DESIGN FOR feedback MISTAKES.
feedback
CC CC
public data public data
1 2 3
public data public data
v 1.4
v 1.4 v 1.3
v 1.3 v 1.2
v 1.0
v 1.0
v 1.2 v 1.1 new generations v 1.1 new generations
What is open source? It is neither a Digital, social, or physical concept- but a conflation of all three.
Top left: General design guidelines/criteria for designing a proper WikiHouse; for clarity they can be organized into three groups. fig. 40 Flowchart: illustrates how WikiHouse operates both as a open source community, as well as a practice of design build, feeding back into an iterative design process shared accross the Creative Commons. fig. 39
+ 4'
8'
12 '
12 '
4'
Lateral expansion only increases sprawl, exacerbating infrastructural pressures
7
3.5
1.75
public data
feedback
v 1.4
v 1.3
v 1.2
v 1.0 v 1.1 new generations
does
locally resourced
"all- in - one" provision
design feedback
+ no skill construction
expandable
reconfigurable
While wikihouse provides a flexible "all-in-one" solution, it does not address verticality.
verticality
doesn't
address sprawl, reduce congestion
fig. 44
Left: Diagram and map illustrate how WikiHouse - due to current lack of vertical construction- would only exacerbate the already growing urban informality. fig. 45 Above: Diagram illustrating what WikiHouse does currently, and what is doesn’t; mainly, the inability to build vertically.
Makoko floating school NLE | Lagos, Nigeria
“Makoko Floating School is a prototype floating structure, built for the historic water community of Makoko, located on the lagoon heart of Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos. As a pilot project, it has taken an innovative approach to address the community’s social and physical needs in view of the impact of climate change and a rapidly urbanizing African context. Its main aim is to generate a sustainable, ecological, alternative building system and urban water culture for the teeming population of Africa’s coastal regions.” -http://www.nleworks.com/case/makoko-floating-school/
vertical build, efficient land use
designed for climate
local building materials, technology
roof top classroom
main classroom
playground / green space
circulation
floating platform / rain water collection + storage
can formal institution INTERFACE with informal communities?
local knowledge
v 1.0
feedback
v 1.0
v 1.0 v 1.0
replication
v 1.0
lumber mills raw material yards waste scavengers electronics market fig. 46 fig. 47
Left: Diagrams illustrate the project’s response to local constraints and technologies, harnessing both to provide a low cost and realistic solution for the community. Above: Similar to previous “feedback” diagram, this shows how the floating school project utilized local materials and technologies to produce the school locally. Missing is the open source capability to “learn” from build experience and build upon its platform.
What is fantastic about the floating school, is that it provides a blueprint for what works in Makoko; a project that addresses a multitude of "Structural solutions are constraints in a coherent solution. It suggests the therefore unsustainable in possibility in how alternate building systems might also address the vast sprawl that now characterthe long term because they can izes Lagos; maintaining quick construction, low damage the environment, they cost, and with minimal effect on the environment. The slight drawback is the concentrated efare costly and, most impor- fort needed on the part of NLE to produce just one tantly, they are time consum- of these structures. What would happen if these ing." (Adeyole and Rustum) blueprints were freely accessable by the community? How might that alter the community’s ability, and need, to provide for itself?
verticality
address sprawl, reduce congestion
public data
does
locally resourced
feedback
v 1.4
v 1.3
doesn't
v 1.2
v 1.0 v 1.1 new generations
"all- in - one" provision
design feedback
+ no skill construction
While the floating school makes use of vertical construction, it still lacks the flexibility of Wikihouse.
expandable
reconfigurable
Image sequence: erection of floating school over the course of just a couple of days. Documentation by NLE, found here: http://www.nleworks.com/case/makoko-floating-school/. fig. 54 Diagram: what the floating school in Makoko DOES do is utilize verticle build for efficient use and organization of space. Such a build would be ideal in areas suffering from extreme density and congestion; what the project lacks however is the flexibility that WikiHouse could provide. fig. 48-53
(access)
(drainage)
(strain)
(flooding) (pollution)
public data
(waste)
feedback v 1.4
the site for the project will be located in the suburb region of Ebute metta, operating within existing urban blocks as a foundation for informal development. architecturally the platform will operate as a hybrid, merging the most advantageos qualities of the Wikihouse platform, and the makoko floating school project while addressing four major criteria.
v 1.0
new generations
recla
a new framework
eclaim space from sprawl
verticality
address sprawl, reduce congestion
lumber mills raw material yards waste scavengers electronics market
(migration) (open source)
)
overpop
slum gen
(local)
(reclaim space)
feedba
v 1.0
ne
(str
improved reduced changed
(quality of life)
)
rpopulation
public data
m generation
v 1.4
feedback
v 1.3
v 1.2
v 1.0
new generations
(access)
(drainage)
v 1.1
(strain)
(flooding) (waste)
(pollution)
hypothetical flow chart highlighting where and how an open source platform could influence the existing dyanmics of Lagos.
fig. 55
A hypothetical flowchart illustrating what “People as Infrastructure� would need to address in order to properly integrate with the complex ecology of Lagos.
bibliography books
Holden, Kimberly J.. “SHoP: Out of Practice” The Monacelli Press (2012): 431. Print. Kelly, Kevin. “Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World” New York: Basic Books (1995): 528. Mohsen Mostafavi. “In The Life Of Cities” Zurich: Lars Muller Publishers (2012): 369. Print. Rushkoff, Douglass. “Present Shock: When Everything Happens NOW” New York: Penguin (2013): loc 4641. Kindle. Schuldenfrei, Eric and Yiu, Marisa. “Instant Culture: Architecture and Urbanism as a Collective Process” MCCM Creations (2011): 465. Print. Shepard, Mark. “Sentient City: Ubiquitous Computing, Architecture, and the Future of Urban Space” Cambridge: MIT press (2011): 200. Print. Smil, Vaclav. “Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems” Cambridge: MIT Press (2008): 388. Print. Smil, Vaclav. “Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature” Cambridge: MIT Press (2013): 252. Print. Vlach, John Michael. “Affecting Architecture of the Yoruba” UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center (1976): 48-53+99. Print. Denyer, Susan. “African Traditional Architecture: An Historical and Geographical Perspective” New York: Africana Pub Co. (1978): 210. Print Gardi, Rene. “Indigenous African Architecture: New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold (1974): 248. Print.
data
Virilio, Paul. “Open Sky (Radical Thinkers)” New York: Verso (2008): 144.
http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=13/6.4693/3.3673 http://www.geocommons.com/ http://www.geohive.com/cntry/nigeria.aspx http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/ http://www.gapminder.org/ http://kff.org/globaldata/ http://www.who.int/research/en/ http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx http://data.un.org/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
studies
Abiodun, Josephine Olu. “Urban Growth and Problems in Metropolitan Lagos” Urban Study 11 (1974): 341-347. Print. Online. Accessed 11.4.2013. doi: 10.1080/00420987420080601. Adeloye, Adebayo J. and Rustum, Rabee. “Lagos (Nigeria) flooding and influence of urban planning.” Urban Design and Planning 164 (2011): 175-187. Online 6.21.2011. Accessed 11.4.2013. doi: 10.1680/udap.1000014. Akinbami, J.F.K. and Fadare, S.O.. “Strategies for sustainable urban and transport development in Nigeria” Transport Policy 4.4 (1997): 237-245. Print. Accessed 11.4.2013. PII: S0967-070X(97)00022-X. Braimoh, Ademola K. and Onishi, Takashi. “Spatial determinants of urban land use change in Lagos, Nigeria” Land Use Policy 24 (2007): 502-515. Online. Accessed 11.4.2013. doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2006.09.001. Fourchard, Laurent. “Lagos, Koolhaas and Partisan Politics in Nigeria” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 35.1 (2011): 40-56. Online. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2427.2010.00938.x. Godlewski, Joseph. “Alien and Distant: Rem Koolhaas on Film in Lagos, Nigeria” TDSR 21.11 (2010):7-19. Online. Accessed 11.4.2013. Ikioda, Faith Ossy. “Urban Markets in Lagos, Nigeria” Geography Compass 7.7 (2013): 517-526. Online. Accessed 11.4.2013. doi: 10.1111/gec3.12057. LeBas, Adrienne. “Violence and Urban Order in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria” St Comp Int Dev 48 (2013): 240-262. Online. Accessed 11.4.2013. doi: 10.1007/s12116-013-9134-y.
Simone, A.M. “People as Infrastructure: Intersecting Fragments in Johannesburg” Public Culture 16.3 (2004): 407-429. Online. Accessed 11.19.2013.
film
Koolhaas: Lagos Wide and Close Interactive Journey Into An Exploding City. DVD. Directed by Bregtje V, D Haak. 2006. Submarine, 2006.
Welcome To Lagos. Broadcast, BBC Two. Directed by Gavin Searle. 15 April 2010 - 29 April 2010. BBC, 2010.
online
Accessed 11.22.2013: http://www.nleworks.com/case/makoko-floating-school/. Accessed 9.14.2013: www.wikihouse.cc. Accessed 11.23.2013: http://natgeotv.com/ca/dont-tell-my-mother/galleries/lagos
gis
http://downloads.cloudmade.com/africa/western_africa/nigeria/lagos#downloads_ breadcrumbs http://lagosstreetmap.blogspot.com/2011/11/lagos-online-enterprise-gis-portal-is.html http://www.lagosstate.gov.ng/pagelinks.php?p=6