Spatial Influence of the Upper-Class. Lagos’ Urban Enclaves and the Changing Narratives of Infrastructure Ideals

Abstract

Lagos is Sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest growing urban centre and has, especially in the past three decades, witnessed the emergence of premium urban enclaves which have been sustained by either the city’s ineffective urban development policies or a subtle overtaking by the income-driven private sector. These elitist urban enclaves are majorly characterised by relatively planned, functional infrastructure provision and service arrangements that are usually financed and managed by the residents. Although, Lagos enclaves have their roots in colonial town planning outcomes, they have today become symbols of spatial segregation and stratification fuelled by a quest for better infrastructure and service experience by the urban elites.

This presentation elucidates on how Lagos premium enclaves are becoming spatially dominant across its urban space and how they have been changing the narratives of (urban) infrastructure ideals through private provision and management. A historical analysis of the patterns of Lagos urban development, theoretical conceptualisation of enclave urbanism and an empirical evaluation using case study enclaves capture the methodological approach.

Interestingly, the spatial consolidation of Lagos enclaves has resulted in urban development patterns where socio-economic status strongly determines access to urban resources and infrastructure services. This reveals an urban planning misnomer where the rights to development and its benefits seem to have been subtly commercialised by complacent city administrators. The city’s weak urban planning policies and misplacement of priorities in the allocation of its limited urban land cast shadows of doubt on its urban social sustainability as development seems to have sidelined its urban poor majority.

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About the Speaker

Jammie Adebisi Titilayo’s PhD project is titled “Prospects for Enclave Infrastructure Provision: Issues of Integration and social Sustainability in the emerging Eko Atlantic City, Lagos”. The research seeks to provide a comprehensive assessment on transport infrastructure integration between the EAC and the Lagos metropolis, based on theoretical analysis in the context of the critical infrastructure paradigm; anchored on the social sustainability debate.