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Marginal land use and value characterizations in Lagos: untangling the drivers and implications for sustainability

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Abstract

Lagos, the leading African megacity, is a coastal city located in creeks and riparian environment. In all parts of the city, transactions in marginal lands—riparian or water-logged areas—are increasingly becoming more noticeable. However, while previous studies have focused upon normal land transactions, the dynamics of land uses in marginal regions remain largely unexplained. Information on the dynamics of informal land transactions in the marginal regions of Lagos city is important for urban sustainability. This study therefore interrogates the attributes, uses, values and drivers of marginal land in Lagos using generalized linear model (GLM). Findings show that the predominant land use in marginal areas of Lagos is residential, majority of the lands are less than full plot size, close to river channels and less accessible, and the mean price ranges from NGN 3,156,908 to NGN 4,052,158. The GLM estimations show that distance to river channels/lagoon and buyer’s status have more significant influence on marginal land uses and values in Lagos. These findings have significant policy and practical implications for the city’s land use and sustainability. For urban and environmental sustainability, there is need to stem transactions in coastal marginal environments of Lagos for their obvious implications for climate change, flooding, erosion, sea incursion, building collapse, natural parks and public spaces, river channels and urban greening.

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Notes

  1. Although the first version of the Isolated State was published in a German treatise, most of the scholars including the present author make use of the later versions especially the one published in 1966 as translated by C.M. Wartenburg and edited by Peter Hall.

  2. The term OMONILE is the generic name for the traditional owners of land and obviously the earliest settlers in Lagos and in all parts of Yoruba land. In spite of the Land Use Act (1980) which vested the ownership of land in the Governor of the State, OMONILE still hold great power and leverage in the informal land market in Lagos. Sometimes, the activities of the OMONILE could create public disorder, opprobrium and fracas and utter disgruntlements among the general public, especially the land buyers. They often knowingly sell a parcel of land to more than one person and care less about the consequences of such action even at the risk of litigation. They are a dreaded, clandestine group of people who use family lands to cause deliberate mayhem and assault on unsuspecting innocent land buyers.

  3. The Nigerian official currency called the Naira which as at the time of research was exchanged for NGN150.00 to a US $1.00 Dollar and about NGN250 to a British £1.00 Pound and approximately NGN200 to a €1.00 Euro.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Sciences, Lagos State University Ojo, PMB 0001, LASU Post Office, Badagry Express Way, Lagos, Nigeria

    I. R. Aliu

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Aliu, I.R. Marginal land use and value characterizations in Lagos: untangling the drivers and implications for sustainability. Environ Dev Sustain 18, 1615–1634 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-015-9706-2

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