Urbanisation Prospects for a Traditional Lakeside Habitat

Abstract

On July 12 2012, the authorities in Lagos warned that the inhabitants of Makoko lake neighbourhood had 72 h to vacant their homes which were to be destroyed. These actions were widely condemned by the population, national and international media and associations. The specificity of Makoko lies in its heritage value as opposed to the architectural standards of imported modernity visible in several large African cities such as Lagos. Moreover, this neighbourhood is constituted as an independent functional unity, negotiated space among the variety of urban actors living and coming there. Combined with these very specific circumstances, Makoko introduced a prime example of urban struggle widely covered by media.