Lagos is one of those cities that has somehow transcended its physical determinants by inadvertently adopting symbolic status. It is no New York, icon of modern progress and sophisticated urbanity, nor is it Paris, the self-appointed culture capital of the Western world. No, Lagos is a multi-layered imaginative entity that captures the cataclysmic extremes of urban dysfunction in many minds. On the other hand, thanks to the cinematic (and repetitive) eye of Rem Koolhaas and his students, and crew of the the BBC's 'Welcome to Lagos' series, it has now become a source of many examples of grassroots innovation and adaptation.
Lagos seems to be a fitting departure point for continuing this blog. My last series of entries were centered around the essential act of network building: visiting member schools, facilitating discussion on AAPS, exploring common themes and gaining insights into the variation in approaches to planning education in Africa. This account bore testimony to the almost quaint, old-fashioned activity of face-to-face meetings in this world of social networking, tweeting and flash mobs. The AAPS project concluded end 2010, and the Rockefeller Foundation has kindly agreed to fund a second phase. We have a post-graduate curriculum to pilot; an MoU with Slum/Shack Dwellers International to implement; our number of schools has doubled to 43 members and our mailing list and web site are digital hubs of activity. So what does Lagos have to do with any of this...?
At the AAPS we realise that in order for the network to continue without outside funding, we need to nurture relationships from within. So, using a number of substantive themes under-represented in planning education and literature, we plan to convene a number of meetings over the next two years that bring together colleagues with shared research interests. Two of these themes are 'informality' and the relationship between 'spatial planning and infrastructure'. What better place to explore them than Lagos! Not only does the majority of economic activity in this city engage in some way with the informal economy, but its many circuits and connections span international networks. Yet, the city faces a political regime that is intent on marginalising the informal. Closely linked to the focus on 'urban renewal' is an emphasis on infrastructure upgrade. Where does spatial planning fit into all of this? What should the collective role of our future planners be? These are some of the issues that we hope will engage us in exploring informality, infrastructure and planning through the lens of Lagos...
