‘Lagos: Mega City or Crisis City?’

Organised by In collaboration with Exchange with

CSI LagosCity Space Investigations

2010

URBAN DETECTIVES

Urban Detectives

Jaap Klaarenbeek, MScJasper Moelker, MSc

‘Redefining the urban & architectural discipline in the 21st century by organizing experimental international workshops’

CSI workframe

TransdisciplinarityParticipatory approachesICT enhanced learning

CSI LagosCity Space Investigations

2010

UNDERSTANDING LAGOS

Leading questions:

1) What can be learnt from Lagos? And, how can prevalent informal activities be integrated into urbanpolicy and planning?

2) Are prevalent media representations beneficial to understanding Lagos?

CSI LagosCity Space Investigations

2010

MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS

Koolhaas ‘Wide & Close’, BBC ‘Welcome to Lagos’, ZDF ‘Das Tagliche Wunder’, Kemp ‘In search for the pirates’

• City typified by rapid urban growth (Koolhaas, BBC), • High density (Koolhaas, BBC)• Hectic and unorganized street life (Koolhaas, BBC)• Capacity of the informal to quickly adapt (Koolhaas)• Higly congested traffic & polluted air (Koolhaas, BBC)• Social polarization and high contrasts• High rates of poverty. (BBC & Kemp)• Crime and corruption (Kemp)• Questioning how the individual copes with this situation? (BBC)• Environmental collapse (BBC & Kemp)

multimedia: fear and uncertaintyacademic articles: enthusiasm and fascination

Academic articles: Gandy, Koolhaas, Fadare, Agbola, Immerwahr, Abiodum, Oduwaye, Olukoju

CSI LagosCity Space Investigations

2010

DUALITIESthe city in gradients

Planned

Old

Urban

Colonial

Dynamic

Efficient

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Unplanned

New

Rural

Traditional

Static

Inefficient

Rapidly developing

High density

Powerful

In-Network

Global

Westernized

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Slowly developing

Low density

Powerless

Off-Network

Local

African

CSI LagosCity Space Investigations

2010

CRISIS?

A crisis is any unstable and dangerous social situation regarding economic,military, personal,political, or societal affairs, especially one involving an impending abrupt change. Crises are “specific, unexpected, and non-routine events or series of events that [create] high levels of uncertainty and threat or perceived threat to an organization’s high priority goals.”

Crisis has four defining characteristics:

1. unexpected (i.e., a surprise),2. creates uncertainty, and3. is seen as a threat to important goals.4. therefore the fourth defining quality is the need for change.

CSI LagosCity Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities CSI Lagos

City Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities CSI Lagos

City Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities CSI Lagos

City Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities CSI Lagos

City Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities CSI Lagos

City Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities CSI Lagos

City Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities CSI Lagos

City Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities CSI Lagos

City Space Investigations

2010

REFLECTIONSchallenges and opportunities

Lagos is not a city in crisis, but the rapid growth poses serious questions that need intelligent answers and responsive, responsible and flexible governing.

• Need for people with a capability to think and intervene on the high/metropolitan scale, with cultural specificities of the city in the background.

• Spatial thinking need another scale that bridges planning and architecture. With the capability to make places. Create a societal value.

CSI LagosCity Space Investigations

2010