Urban renewal experts are of the view that urbanisation and its concomitant challenges are not just a modern phenomenon, but that of rapid and historic transformation replaced by predominantly urban culture.
The process of urbanisation is increasing in both the developed and developing countries, especially, in Lagos State, where people are trooping in on daily basis, seeking a ‘better life’.
However, the challenges inherent in rapid urbanisation include unemployment, poverty, inadequate health, poor sanitation, urban slums and environmental degradation, among others.
This reality has been unfolding at different fora where residents, among them opinion leaders, businessmen and civil society groups continue to task the candidates of the different political parties in Lagos over the enormous challenges in the ‘City of Aquatic Splendour’.
But one of the candidate that has continue to face barrage of questions and challenges has been the candidate of the All Progressives Congres (APC), Mr Babajide Sanwoolu and his running mate, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat.
Three issues that dominate the discourse in Lagos in the recent times has to do with security, traffic and the waste management, issues that assurances were giving that come May 29’ 2019, if APC wins the election, the nagging issue of traffic and Environment would be frontally tackled.
Just last week Friday, at the Colonades Hotel, Ikoyi, where a group, S4Lagos (Sanwoolu for Lagos) hosted the APC candidate to express their supports, professionals in attendance still hammered on the need to be proactive on tackling these challenges.
In his comment, a foremost Estate Surveyor, Chief Bode Adediji, while advocating for a paradigm shift in housing delivery, made allusion to the fact that Lagos’ unabated population growth requires a more scientific approach to solve her accommodation demands.
To this, Sanwoolu assured that measures are in the pipeline on how to solve the problems; prominent among which was to redifine housing types in the Lagos megacity.
According to Sanwoolu, meeting of stakeholders in the various sectors will hold to properly evaluate several options on ground to deal with the various issues.
“For example, we will look at the more pragmatic housing models that fit into a megacity like Lagos. For instance, there are lot of people whose accommodation need is the studio types. Just like in London, Paris, and other cities around the world, there’s no luxury of wasting spaces, as we have in the Nigerian cities, especially in Lagos, where a couple will want to have a three-bedroom apartment, with unutilised corridors.
“Our situation in Lagos can no longer afford such luxury. We need to redesign our housing needs and this we will do collectively with the relevant stakeholders,” he said.
and then