In the 48 hours spent hosted by my gracious colleagues from University of Lagos, I saw men carrying sewing machines on their heads, others patiently pushing large metal trolleys containing water containers, with vendors selling fuel in an oil rich country at double the commercial rate while vehicles patiently line up at service stations in this twisted irony of global economics. Highways are mobile shopping malls, vendors criss-cross the somnolent traffic with agile elegance, balancing newspapers/ airtime vouchers/plastic placemats/sewing kits etc while negotiating terms of trade.Whilst crossing a number of bridges between the mainland and the islands that form the Southern part of this city. I snapped billboards celebrating the pending FIFA World Cup only to find upon my return, debilitating poverty displayed in makeshift stilt structures on the Lagoon in between floating logs in administered rows. Slums contrast with affluent g
ated estates, access to which is curtailed by potholes and traffic. Negotiating 10 kms in Lagos can take you two hours despite the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that criss-crosses this megolopolis. Additional public transport is provided by motorised rickshaws, motorbikes and motor vehicles of varying sizes and functions. I am not unfamiliar with urban poverty, nor with the phenomenon of the mega-city, but Lagos is something else entirely.As planners we are trained t
o think holistically. What distinguishes us is the ability to see the bigger picture, makes sense of the synergies that allow a city to function effectively. A modestly arrogant expectation is the anticipation of a total understanding of the city: what makes it tick, what are the forces that lead to ongoing change, the spatial configurations and logic, the underlying energies? Lagos defies all of that. It denies one the satisfaction of prediction and overall urban insight. It allows only fragments. This extends to living in the city I believe. It is quite possible to live in Lagos with the detachment that separates one from public life in the city. A driver takes you to work while you negotiate business deals on your mobile phone. Your office is cooled and powered by a generator to avoid the constant power cuts (Nigeria produces one eight of the electricity South Africa produces....for a population of 150 million, almost four times the size of South Africa's population) which also powers the laptop, digitally connected by a 3G modem. You return to your home behind the high walls that shields you from the chaotic surroundings. The 8 pm flight takes you to London/Johannesburg/Accra/Frankfurt/New York.... your check-in procedure smoothed by the self-employed tout that accelerates your boarding and customs clearance for as little as US $10.
My own experience is not dissimilar as my astronomical hotel bill and reduced stash of US dollars attest. As an urbanist, I find this strangely tragic however. Did I miss out on the Lagos experience, or do these fragments merely comprise a different kind of urban condition, distinctive and pervasive?
o think holistically. What distinguishes us is the ability to see the bigger picture, makes sense of the synergies that allow a city to function effectively. A modestly arrogant expectation is the anticipation of a total understanding of the city: what makes it tick, what are the forces that lead to ongoing change, the spatial configurations and logic, the underlying energies? Lagos defies all of that. It denies one the satisfaction of prediction and overall urban insight. It allows only fragments. This extends to living in the city I believe. It is quite possible to live in Lagos with the detachment that separates one from public life in the city. A driver takes you to work while you negotiate business deals on your mobile phone. Your office is cooled and powered by a generator to avoid the constant power cuts (Nigeria produces one eight of the electricity South Africa produces....for a population of 150 million, almost four times the size of South Africa's population) which also powers the laptop, digitally connected by a 3G modem. You return to your home behind the high walls that shields you from the chaotic surroundings. The 8 pm flight takes you to London/Johannesburg/Accra/Frankfurt/New York.... your check-in procedure smoothed by the self-employed tout that accelerates your boarding and customs clearance for as little as US $10.My own experience is not dissimilar as my astronomical hotel bill and reduced stash of US dollars attest. As an urbanist, I find this strangely tragic however. Did I miss out on the Lagos experience, or do these fragments merely comprise a different kind of urban condition, distinctive and pervasive?
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