Future Cities Lagos Urban Intervention Retreat
The Future Cities Lagos Urban Intervention Team has been working in collaboration with the Lagos State Government, in particular, the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA) and the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPPUD) to develop the Lagos Urban Renewal Guidelines. The purpose of the guidelines is to facilitate the aims of the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) to reduce the slums and blighted communities in Lagos by 5% each year.
As the close out of the intervention approaches, the LURI team, (MPPUD) and LASURA held a two-day residential retreat in Ikeja Lagos on December 17th and 18th to discuss the Urban Renewal Guidelines and make final amendments and additions before its final handover to LASURA for validation and implementation within the agency’s operations. Also invited to the retreat were members of the Guidelines Advisory Team (GAT) who have been an integral part of the entire process, and are made of various stakeholder groups in the city including other Lagos State Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), academia and representatives of vulnerable groups and women groups.
The session was titled “Validation of Lagos Urban Renewal Guidelines and Capacity Building for the staff of Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA), Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPPUD) and Guidelines Advisory Team (GAT)”.
In addition to the in-depth revision of the Guidelines through presentations, breakout sessions, case study roles, and a questions and comments section, the retreat also deliberated on Otto Demonstrator Project and Investors’ Road Map Report. The Demonstrator Project is an articulation of projects outlined in the Otto Action Plan Area of the Lagos Mainland Central Model City Plan to test the application of the Guidelines and to pinpoint areas to attract investors towards the regeneration of the Otto Slum Community.
It was agreed at the retreat that a few areas in the Guidelines such as Citywide Urban Regeneration Strategy (CURES) should contain slum-ranking models, and that a Focus Group Meeting should be convened for the purpose, in addition to a public presentation of the Guidelines and presentation to the Executive Council of the Lagos State Government to be chaired by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwolu.
The two-day retreat was attended by the Honorable Commissioner of the MPPUD, Tpl. Idris Salako, Special Adviser to the Governor on PPUD, Honorable Ayuba Ganiu Adele, Permanent Secretary, MPPUD, Architect Foluso Dipe, General Manager of LASURA, Ms Jibike Shomade, General Manager of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, Tpl Funmi Osifuye and 17 other staff from MPPUD and LASURA
Leading the FCN team was Lookman Oshodi with project management operations provided by Queen Nwokonneya and other key consultants for FCN. The retreat was useful in communicating the benefits of the Guidelines and agreeing to the strategies required for the citywide application of the Guidelines by FCN and LASG.
