Planning and Pentecostalism in the Spatial (Re-)Configuration of Lagos

Abstract

In Lagos, Nigeria’s premier city, the activities of religious organizations—especially Pentecostal ones—have resulted in changing morphology and land-use reconfigurations at both the micro and macro scales. This is often achieved without regard for extant planning regulations. In Nigerian development-control lexicon, religious land uses are categorized under ‘institutional’ alongside schools, libraries, hospitals and government buildings. Hence, the nature, pattern and consequences of emergent land-use change go largely undetected and unaddressed. This chapter will assess the ways in which religious institutions have contributed to land-use change and urban planning in Lagos. It will ‘deep dive’ into how Pentecostal assemblies adopt both top-down and bottom-up approaches in the making and remaking of Lagos. Existing administrative practices in the field of urban planning and the implications of these approaches for city development will be further interrogated. In essence, the chapter will attempt to address the following broad questions: What is the pattern of land-use appropriation by religious organizations in Lagos? How does this affect urban patterns and processes? What are the urban-planning responses?