A RATIONAL APPROACH TO THE CHALLENGES OF URBAN SLUMS IN LAGOS STATE

Alagbe, O. A. and Adeboye, A. B. (2005) A RATIONAL APPROACH TO THE CHALLENGES OF URBAN SLUMS IN LAGOS STATE. In: A 2-day National Conference on Lagos Region, Wednesday 15th - Thursday 16th June, 2005, Conference Centre, University of Lagos Guest Houses, Main Campus, Akoka, Lagos. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Housing like food and clothing is one of the basic necessities of life. The need for shelter by every individual cannot be overemphasized. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century led to explosion in human population and the need to accommodate them in decent housing became a challenge. The population explosion became more evident in urban centers of the underdeveloped world. Lagos State being the former national capital and the commercial nerve center of the nation, like every other urban center, has a concentration of wealth, prestige, political power, and growing manufacturing sectors. It offers vast majority of employment opportunities, opportunity to connect with the rich and powerful, and the excitement of night life that was non-existent in most rural areas made the city attractive, thus resulting in uncontrolled rural-urban migration. Lagos State is undoubtedly the most notorious example of urban growth in Nigeria with an annual growth rate of fourteen percent. The first dilemma of an urban migrant in Lagos is the question of an adequate house. With little resources, financial or otherwise, the drastic option of illegally occupying a vacant piece of land to build a rudimentary shelter is the only one available to them. This is the genesis of the development of squatter settlements and slums which has been seen as a social evil that has to be eradicated. This reaction towards slums has not helped the more basic question of adequate housing for all. This paper addressed the adverse effects of the unprecedented population growth and consequent increase in urbanization of Lagos State on the inhabitants. The poor socio-economic state of the nation as well as its various housing implications was examined. The paper concludes that the government effort to stop slum development will be to no avail unless they accept that squatter settlements and slums have become inevitable phenomenon in urban areas which has no quick fix solution. However, it could be nipped in the bud using the following recommended approaches: slum upgrade option, sites-and-services scheme and embracing raw earth building technology.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NA Architecture
Divisions:	Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics > School of Civil Engineering and the Environment
Depositing User:	Mr Adewole Adewumi
Date Deposited:	22 Jun 2011 22:21
Last Modified:	20 Dec 2014 09:33
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/215

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