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How did Lagos, Nigeria, grow from a tiny island kingdom to a megalopolis famous for its frenetic and congested form of coastal urbanism? This first-of-its-kind history provides a comprehensive narrative for understanding one of Africa's largest cities-its buoyant vibrancy and its two-headed problem of housing shortages and rising seas-today.
List of contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Èkó: Mapping What a House Is in LagosBar
Houses as Gateways to Status: Lagos ColonyCanal
Trenches in Land, Labor, and Sanitation Struggles: Imperial LagosSwamp
Foci in Land, Labor, and Sanitation Struggles: Interwar Years Lagoon
Hidden Depths across Independence139
Atlantic
Gatekeepers of Wealth and Power: The Oil YearsConclusion
Flooding: Barometers of Human Security in a Fractured Global LandscapeNotes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Mark Duerksen is a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in the
Journal of West African History and the
Johannesburg Salon, as well as in dozens of publications for the Africa Center. His work aims to make Africa's histories and cities understandable (and visible) to a larger audience, particularly policymakers.
Summary
How did Lagos, Nigeria, grow from a tiny island kingdom to a megalopolis famous for its frenetic and congested form of coastal urbanism? This first-of-its-kind history provides a comprehensive narrative for understanding one of Africa’s largest cities—its buoyant vibrancy and its two-headed problem of housing shortages and rising seas—today.
