Remember Lagos With TOSH + OPEN
Part of Urban Growth and the Global Urban World — GCSE Geography
This memory aid covers Remember Lagos With TOSH + OPEN within Urban Growth and the Global Urban World for GCSE Geography. Revise Urban Growth and the Global Urban World in Urban Issues and Challenges for GCSE Geography with 15 exam-style questions and 22 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 11 of 14 in this topic. Use it for quick recall, then test yourself straight afterwards so the memory aid becomes usable in an answer.
Topic position
Section 11 of 14
Practice
15 questions
Recall
22 flashcards
🧠 Remember Lagos With TOSH + OPEN
Two mnemonics to organise your Lagos knowledge for the exam.
TOSH — The Four Challenges of Rapid Urban Growth in Lagos:
- 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
OPEN — The Four Opportunities Urban Growth Creates in Lagos:
- 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
In the exam, TOSH gives you your challenges; OPEN gives you your opportunities. A balanced 8-mark answer uses both.
Push and Pull — remember the key distinction: Push factors are about what you're escaping from (drought, job losses, conflict). Pull factors are about what you're drawn towards (wages, services, networks). Push comes first in time — something has to make you leave before you decide where to go.