Knowledge Organiser: Urban World — Urbanisation, Growth, and Lagos
Key Terms
- Urbanisation: Increasing proportion of population in cities
- Rural-to-urban migration: Movement from countryside to city
- Push factors: Reasons driving people away from rural areas
- Pull factors: Reasons attracting people to cities
- Natural increase: Births exceed deaths → population grows
- Megacity: Urban area with 10m+ population
- Informal settlement: Unplanned housing without services
- Desertification: Fertile land becoming desert (Sahel)
Lagos Key Facts
- Population: ~15–21 million (fastest-growing African city)
- Growth: 0.3m (1950) → 21m (today) — 70-fold increase
- 60–70% population in informal housing
- 40% lack safe piped drinking water
- Nollywood: $1bn/year; world's 2nd-largest film industry
- Lagos generates 25% of Nigeria's GDP
- BRT: 200,000 passengers/day
- Makoko: 100,000 people on stilts, Lagos Lagoon
- Traffic congestion: $1bn/year economic cost
- Eko Atlantic: 10km² land reclamation off Victoria Island
Push and Pull Factors
- Push: Agricultural mechanisation (fewer farm jobs)
- Push: Drought / desertification (north Nigeria / Sahel)
- Push: Lack of services (schools, hospitals)
- Push: Conflict (Boko Haram → 2m displaced)
- Pull: Employment (formal + informal economy)
- Pull: Better services (hospitals, schools, universities)
- Pull: Chain migration (family already there)
- Pull: Perceived higher wages
HIC vs LIC/NEE Urbanisation
- UK: 83% urban — urbanisation already complete
- LICs/NEEs: rapid urbanisation NOW — sub-Saharan Africa + South Asia
- Pace: UK took ~100 years; Nigeria taking ~50 years
- Megacities 1950: 2 (New York + Tokyo)
- Megacities 2020: 30+ — majority in Asia/Africa
- HIC challenge: regeneration of deindustrialised areas, housing affordability
- LIC/NEE challenge: informal housing, sanitation, congestion
- TOSH: Traffic, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Hazards (Lagos challenges)
- OPEN: One billion (Nollywood), Port/finance, Education, New tech (Lagos opportunities)
Common Mistakes
- Confusing urbanisation causes: Urbanisation in LICs/NEEs is driven by BOTH rural-urban migration AND natural increase (high birth rates in cities) — only stating migration misses half the explanation
- Saying all informal settlements are purely negative: Makoko (Lagos) has a vibrant community economy; Dharavi generates £1bn/year — always show the economic and social opportunities alongside the challenges
- Not using Lagos-specific statistics: "Lagos has poor sanitation" scores low — state that 40% lack safe piped water, 60–70% live in informal housing, and traffic costs the city $1bn/year
- Ignoring the HIC vs LIC/NEE contrast: UK urbanisation is already 83% complete; rapid growth is happening NOW in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia — examiners reward this global pattern
Memory Aid
- T — Traffic — some of the worst congestion on Earth; 3–5 hours commuting per day; $1bn/year productivity loss
- O — Overcrowding and informal housing — 60–70% in informal settlements; Makoko (100,000 on stilts); 30,000 evicted 2012
- S — Sanitation and water — 40% lack clean water; open drains; cholera outbreaks; lagoon pollution
- H — Hazards (flooding and environment) — Victoria Island floods; sea-level rise; e-waste; coastal erosion
- O — One billion dollars — Nollywood generates $1bn/year; world's second-largest film industry
- P — Port and finance — Africa's largest stock exchange; leading financial centre; major port
- E — Education and services — Lagos University; teaching hospitals; far better access than rural Nigeria
- N — New tech (Yabacon Valley) — Flutterwave, Paystack; fintech revolution; 200,000 BRT passengers/day