Social, Economic and Environmental Challenges of Urbanization in Lagos

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Urbanization in Lagos
Demographics of the City
Challenges of Urbanization
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

In developing countries, better infrastructure and access to services lead to urbanization which has adverse challenges on populations and the environment. During the colonial period, African countries and cities located along the coastal region had the advantage of facilitating the exchange and transport of goods. One of Nigeria and Africa’s most economically stable cities, Lagos is among the most beneficial cities in trade and economic benefits. The city’s ports led to transportation infrastructure development to connect the various goods into and outside the towns. Colonization also led to oil production and efficient railways systems leading to further economic development in Lagos.

However, the city’s rapid economic growth has led to high population density due to urbanization, creating social, economic, and environmental challenges the challenges include poverty, unemployment, sanitation, poor and inadequate transport infrastructure, congestion in the city, climate change among others. The Lagos administration needs effective planning measures such as proper governing systems, population control and improved transportation infrastructure to ensure the sustainability of the city. This essay discusses Lagos’s challenges due to urbanization to help in creating effective planning responses to minimize the impacts and promote more sustainable social, economic and ecological conditions.

Urbanization in Lagos

Lagos has the most rapid population growth in West African cities due to its rapid economic development. The city has a unique financial setup due to open ports that facilitate international trade. Apart from open seaways, the Lagos manufacturing industry accounts for over 75% of the country’s value, creating a significant financial economy across the West African region (Onwuanyi, 2019). In Lagos, Urbanization comes from rural-urban migration, naturally growing populations in the city, politics, and economic processes that demonstrate urbanization (About Lagos, 2021). However, the development of coastal areas led to a decline in the development of inland areas, including poor roads and inadequate population control leading to unsustainability and an increase in poverty levels. The urban population suffers from malnutrition, high food expenses and poor housing due to congestion (Aliyu and Amadu, 2017). Consequently, population growth in Lagos has led to higher demands for increasing social services such as schools and hospitals.

Governance

Despite moving Nigeria’s capital city to Abuja, Lagos remains the most economically potential city, sustaining most of Nigeria’s economy. The city is a booming region with much political influence, which determines the developmental projects and outcomes. The town has a municipality that oversees the formulation of policies and governance through local and state leaders (Onwuanyi, 2019). However, the city’s foundation comprises corrupt leadership, monopoly enterprises, nepotism and bribery where unions, state leaders and the local government connect through power links.

Lagos lacks proper governance since many civilians do not follow the laid down regulations due to bribes and corruption. For instance, most citizens boycott licensing tax and sanitation fees because of illegal patronages from leaders (Aliyu and Amadu, 2017). Nepotism also affects the governance of Lagos since most people work with their kin in bending laws and practicing unethical businesses without reprimanding. The poor city administration has led to disregarding policies and regulations regarding the environment and social factors (Aliyu and Amadu, 2017). Given the city’s governance, it is challenging to create sustainable change regarding social, economic, and environmental issues. Leaders are too deep into unethical practices like nepotism and corruption for their bureaucratic benefits.

Demographics of the City

Lagos is among the smallest states in Nigeria and covers an area of approximately 1,171.28km2. The city’s location along the coastal area has led to a growing increase in population density, exceeding the sustainability of the city’s resources. The population growth occurs in millions, where the density has increased by three million between 2018 to 2021 (Lagos population 2021, 2021). Currently, the total population in Lagos stands at 14.8 million and the world bureau of statistics projects an increase to 17.1 million in 2025. However, only 30% of the population live in better settlements, whereas 69.8% live in slums or on the streets (Aliyu and Amadu, 2017). The population growth in Lagos is critical since the area is small, forcing people to cover a living space of 4100 people per one square kilometer (Lagos Population 2021, 2021). Thus, the city requires efficient governance for the sustainability of resources and the citizens’ social and healthy well-being.

Challenges of Urbanization

Socio-Economic Challenges

Housing Affordability

The efficient infrastructure and buzzing economy have resulted in many settlements in Lagos, thereby increasing pressure on the limited land. The increase in population comes from immigrants locally and internationally, where people make a living away from the poverty-stricken rural areas (Afolabi, Akinbo and Akinola, 2019). The city is now a hub for many homeless people due to inadequate and affordable housing. For instance, the Makoko slum in Lagos is among the largest slums in Africa, with over 88,000 people (Afolabi, Akinbo and Akinola, 2019). The slum is not a typical living area since residents live in floating houses in the sea due to a lack of inland areas to build shelters. Due to poverty and poor living conditions, the slum communities are vulnerable to health risks such as cholera and diarrhea. The people also have inadequate access to social and health services forcing them to form their governance systems and social networking areas such as schools and local hospitals (Aliyu and Amadu, 2017). Socially, the slum residents are set apart from inland people creating social inequalities among populations leading to segregation and social classes.

Unemployment

One of the significant social and economic challenges in Lagos is unemployment. Due to urbanization, the population growth has led to more dependents in the city with limited jobs available to cater to all individuals (Aliyu and Amadu, 2017). Although rural to urban migration results from the need to find better employment and higher wages, the city does not have enough industrial and manufacturing companies to hire the population. Besides industrial work, university graduates have limited job opportunities in companies and state offices due to corruption and nepotism (Güneralp et al., 2017). As a result, many youths and young adults are jobless, which strains the city’s economy and social life. Unemployment also causes social inequalities due to the segregation of high-income earners, middle earners, and the jobless poor. The social classification also shows in physical settlements where the rich have separate living regions from the poor, leading to spatial economic development.

Infrastructure

Despite having the best inland and waterway infrastructure in transportation, Lagos experiences infrastructural inadequacy due to the large population density. The city has ferry services, inland roads that provide connectivity within and outside the city and major international and local airports (Schmidt and Purwins, 2018). Yet, the infrastructure is not sufficient to cater to the people’s needs. Employees are in constant complaints of getting to work late due to traffic congestion. Ozioma and McSharry (2021) state that the city has the poorest traffic in all African countries, and the growing population burdens transport infrastructure since the resources are fewer than the population. Thus, industrial and Lagos State workers are always in a hassle to get from one point to another in the morning and after work leading to constant exhaustion that affects their health and general well-being.

Although urbanization contributes to the inadequacy of transportation services, the leading cause of Lagos’ inadequate transport services despite having the best roads and waterway systems is corruption and poor management. Railroads are unreliable, while ferry services are inept due to poor management (Schmidt and Purwins, 2018). Additionally, people fear travelling through ferries due to slow services and less confidence in the system since the ferries are not suitable for transport. Efforts of reclaiming the ferry services were futile due to corruption and bureaucratic self-interest, which stopped a multimillion reclamation project on claims of unreasonable quotations from the contractors. The city’s roads have poor infrastructure due to poor maintenance by the federal government, which is responsible for urban developments (Afolabi, Akinbo and Akinola, 2019). As a result, the city’s authority tries to repair and maintain the inland roads leading to economic strain due to the additional cost of infrastructure.

Electrical infrastructure also poses a challenge to city dwellers socially and economically. Persistent power breakouts and outages in Lagos hinder many business operations in both small- and large-scale entrepreneurs. Manufacturing industries rely on electricity supply for mechanical operations leading to insufficient production during power outages (Healy et al., 2020). The frequent power outages force most manufacturing companies to relocate to other countries with better electrical amenities leading to negative economic impacts.

Environmental Challenges

Water

Lagos residents have challenges with water supply services and access to clean water. Despite abundant water resources, the supply is inadequate due to urbanization creating acute shortages among city residents. Among the population, 80% of the residents use borehole water due to insufficient piping facilities (Güneralp et al., 2017). Although federal policies demand government institutions to supply water and provide subsidies to the poor, most water companies have private ownerships that practice unethical business transactions due to corruption and poor governance. According to Healy et al (2020), Lagos’ water supply is impoverished due to sedimentations in pipes and irregular coverage of water points and connecting lines to cover large areas.

Waste Management

Another environmental challenge is waste management in the city and its environs. The city’s solid waste management became a significant issue after the emergence of oil industries that led to urban development and population increase, resulting in increased waste causing significant environmental hazards (Güneralp et al., 2017). Due to poor governance, the city lacks basic strategies and policies for solid waste collection and disposal, leading to pollution and irregular waste dumping. Although the city has urban municipality programs for solid waste collection, the municipals lack adequate resources for collecting the solid waste due to high waste production levels. Additionally, the private sector has taken over the role of waste collection, with high payments rates that most city residents cannot afford (Healy et al., 2020). Apart from solid waste management, the city has deficits in urban sanitation due to increased populations

Climate Change

Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gas in the form of carbon, methane, and nitrogenous gases cause climate change due to damaging the ozone layer. The gases form as a result of land-use changes and urban agriculture. The city’s population density causes high emissions of greenhouse gases which generate air pollution in high concentrations. The gases come from changes in land use, industrialization, open disposal of solid and human waste and combustion of fossil fuels (Lawal et al., 2020). As a result, the gases cause climate change, leading to floods and rising sea levels that could cause physical damage and deaths among people living near the waters.

Conclusion

Urbanization has adverse impacts on Lagos, such as unemployment, the development of informal settlements and environmental pollution. Unemployment creates social inequalities, which impacts the economic and social stability of the city. Alternatively, social inequalities create health risks due to the inability of the low-income population to use the same health facilities as the health middle and high society. Urbanization also contributes to poor sanitation, burdening transport networks leading to damages, inadequate provision of essential utilities such as electricity and lack of sustainable social capital. Finally, Lagos faces environmental challenges in the form of poor sanitation, unclean water, poor solid waste management and air pollution. Air pollution results in climate change and ecological disruption due to the emission of carbon gases leading to floods and a rise in sea levels.

Reference List

About Lagos (no author) Lagos State Government. (2021). Web.

Afolabi, A.O., Akinbo, F.T. and Akinola, A. 2019. Vertical architecture construction: prospects and barriers in solving Lagos’ housing deficit’, Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1378(4). Web.

Aliyu, A. and Amadu, L. 2017 ‘Urbanization, cities, and health: the challenges to Nigeria – a review’, Annals of African Medicine, 16(4) pp 149-160.

Güneralp, B. et al. 2017. ‘Urbanization in Africa: challenges and opportunities for conservation’, Environmental Research Letters, 13(1). Web.

Healy, A. et al. 2020. Domestic groundwater abstraction in Lagos, Nigeria: a disjuncture in the science-policy-practice interface?’, Environmental Research Letters 15(4). Web.

Lagos population 2021 (no author) Demographics, Maps, Graphs. Web.

Lawal, D.U. et al. 2020 ‘Transformative urban governance: confronting urbanization challenges with geospatial technologies in Lagos, Nigeria’, GeoJournal, 84(4) pp. 1039-1056.

Onwuanyi, N., 2019 ‘The unplanned journey that led Lagos to becoming an overwhelmed megacity, Quartz. Web.

Ozioma, P. and McSharry, P. 2021. Public transportation demand analysis: a case study of metropolitan Lagos. Web.

Schmidt, M. and Purwins, S. 2018. ‘Simultaneity as a challenge for development’, GeoJournal, 83(6), pp 1193-1204.

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