Lagos Flashcards
Describe Lagos
low lying city
south west nigeria
surrounded by lagoon
used to be small fishing village
Describe social characteristics of lagos
birth rate above nigerian average
full of informal settlements
600,000 people born per year
17million estimated population
average 5 babies per woman
weak transport and infrastructure
children part of work force
How much tonnes of waste is generated in lagos per day
6000
What is lagos’s average earnings per resident
$1036 (£670)
Describe Makoko
Floating informal settlement neighbourhood located in Lagos, initially founded as a fishing village, population over 80,000
Describe lagos lagoon
More than 50km long
3-13km wide
Swampy margins on lagoon side
Fairly shallow
city spreads over 30km of south western shoreline
lots of waste in lagoon
What is the third mainland bridge
11km long
Built off western shoreline to bypass congestion mainland suburbs
Describe Ikoyi
Most affluent area of Lagos
- many high rise apartment buildings, 5 star hotels, one of africa’s largest gold courses, extravagant mansions
How is wealth spread in lagos
Western side is wealthy and commercial
Eastern side is poor hosting markets and deprived residential areas
What is the national importance of Lagos
-one of the largest economies in Africa (11th)
- home to 10% of nigerian population
- contributes to 30% of nigeria’s GDP
- centre of nigeria’s modern economy
- contains nigerian biggest manufacturing industry
What is the international importance of Lagos
- emerged as major hub for the head quarters of national and global economies, complex businesses and professional services
- 7th fastest growing city in world
- mega city with substantial foreign born population
- airport is main arrival point for 80% of flights into west africa - airport serves internationally with non stop flights to hundreds of destinations around the world
Lagos negatives
Social
- 15 households share communal toilet
- waste, lack of sanitation
- 60% of population live in slums
- education unaffordable
- poor electricity supply
- illegal housing
- overcrowded land
- traffic congestion (2hour average)
- houses built from flimsy
materials = no protection
Environmental
- air pollution from factory emissions
- 40% only of rubbish collected
- no sewage systems
Economic
- not enough formal jobs for all migrants
- sprawl of poverty
- lack of enjoyable jobs
Lagos positives
- range of jobs
- education, 10 universities, passport out of poverty, get into film, business and fashion industries e.g nollywood
- 1000s of people come every week
- young work force
- better health care access, increased life expectancy, won’t die from curable diseases
- improved transport, lagos blue rail line (jan 2023) - lagos mainland to marina, expected to transport 250,000 passengers
- better access to energy, two new power stations planned to be built
- large access to water but must be cleaned
Lagos schemes
eko atlantic
lekki trade zone
future proofing plans - provide 100% access to energy
water master plan - meet rising water demand + treatment facilities
What is the olusosun rubbish dump
- 500 people work there
- lots of shops, restaurants, mosque around dump
- huge landfill site
- workers sort 3000 tonnes of waste each day
- workers build homes out of discarded material
- people save money by using waste
However; - natural gases build up under decomposing rubbish = lead to fire
- electric waste an release toxic fumes, so must be treated, workers can breathe in fumes = bad for health
- lots of workers have no protection from shark objects e.g shoes, gloves
What is the effects of the informal sector - pos/neg
neg - Less taxes payed to government, so can’t invest in services, government can’t trade in goods, workers living in dangerous hazardous conditions, no minimum wage, no holidays, intensive labour
pos - people earn money without loosing most of it, people work hard themselves to make local area better place, informal sectors offer things people need, creates community, people still have jobs, offers foothold to live in Lagos
How are opportunities limited in lagos
- people will be evicted from homes if transformation occurs
- lots of people naturally die from curable diseases anyway because they can’t reach health care in time
- people too busy working, stuck in poverty, can’t afford/no time for education
- transport can’t fit everyone, still lots of traffic congestion on roads
- short energy supply in lagos, wealthier people use up energy
- people still unable to access safely piped water, must walk miles
- people still working in horrible conditions which don’t sustain them enough income
how does lagos population growth lead to opportunities
-encouraged growth in services
-more workers = more stable economy
- more people likely to join other job sectors = pays tax to government
What is Victoria island
- financial centre of lagos
- offers wide range of shops, restaurants, entertainment venues
- lekki free trade zone = major industrial area which has stimulated economic development, china company cooperation’s, 100 ,000 jobs will be created, people in local area have more money to spend on services, increases skilled work force + demand for services = more created = more jobs
what are the opportunities and challenges in makoko
chall - lack of sanitation, lack of access to clean water, no legal rights, poor health, unemployment, poor work quality, frequent power cuts, 80% of pop relies on diesel generators, widespread diseases, 75% of households occupy single room, 11% have access to safe piped water, 50% no kitchen, bath, toilets
opps - education - yabba college of tech caters 16,000 students, can supply 12 million people with drinking water
Define pollution
presence of chemicals, noise, dirt or other harmful substances and there effects on environment
Define sanitation
measures designed to protect public health, including the provision of clean water, disposal of sewage and waste
What are the pollution sanitation and supply problems in lagos
- water that exists is polluted, hard for government to implement adequate infrastructure, lack of sanitation leads to strain on health care
- only 10% access to water from LWC
- rising sea levels can lead to water contamination - salt water intrusion
- no adequate water treatment
- spread of water bourne diseases e.g chlorella + dysentry
What water strategies will be used in Lagos
- water treatment plans (currently only supply 10% of population)
- open drains carry surface rain water
- residents build boreholes to obtain groundwater from deep underground