Tackling Challenges in Lagos Edexcel A

Tackling Challenges in Lagos

Grab yourself a pen and paper if you have them ready to take notes.

Starter: Think of a challenge faced by the people of Lagos.
What could the government, charities or local people do to help tackle this challenge?

Managing challenges in Lagos

There are two approaches to manage challenges in Lagos:
- Top-down projects are enforced by the government and tend to be expensive and involve long-term planning to support their policies.
- Bottom-up projects are often small and community-based, involving support from charities and local people.

Categorize

Options (9)

Government controlled

Expensive

Long-term

Community focussed

Large-scale projects

Policy-driven

Charity-funded

Local skills and resources used

Empowerment of local people

What is the difference between top-down and bottom-up projects?

Top-down

Bottom-up

Challenge 1: Traffic congestion

• 40% of Nigeria's cars are bought in Lagos.

• Traffic congestion results in the 'go-slow' - a 2 hour traffic jam each morning and afternoon.

• Traffic congestion from cars, taxis and motorbikes is also a major contributor to air pollution, the leading cause of death in Lagos.

• Accidents on Lagos's roads are frequent leading to many deaths each year.

Solution: Top-down project - Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

• To tackle the congestion problems in Lagos the government set up the Bus Rapid Transit in 2008.

• 22km of bus route, with 220 buses moving 100,000 passengers/day.

• Cost $1.7million/km, funded in part by the World Bank.

• Carries 25% of the population in just 4% of vehicles.

• Have their own bus lane.

Benefits of the BRT:

• Reduced journey times by 25 minutes and bus wait times from 45 minutes to 10 minutes.

• Fares dropped from 230 Naira to just 100 Naira.

• Employs 2000 people directly, with 10,000 indirect jobs (e.g. selling food to customers).

• Cut CO2 emissions by 13%.

• Reduced air pollution as more people take the bus instead of cars.

Categorize

Options (6)

Journey times are quicker

Fares dropped in price

Provides thousands of jobs

Cut CO2 emissions

Reduced air pollution from cars

Wait times are reduced

Categorise the benefits of the BRT

Social

Economic

Environmental

Evaluation: What are the challenges of this top-down project?

• Government corruption and lack of funds mean buses have been poorly maintained and frequently break down or are out of use.

• Area Boys extort money from BRT buses every time they pass through their areas.

• Queues have increased as traffic continues to rise, slowing buses.

• Informal market sellers have taken over parts of the bus lane and stations blocking the routes.

Open Ended

Evaluate the Bus Rapid Transit project - do you think it has been successful in tackling challenges in Lagos? Give reasons for your opinion.

Inequality in Lagos

• Like many cities in the world, the gap between the rich and poor in Lagos is widening.

• 66% of Lagosians live in slums with limited access to running water, sanitation, healthcare and education.

• On the other hand, the rich live in luxurious apartments and have high-paying jobs and excellent services.

• How can projects help to address this divide?

This image shows the inequality between rich and poor areas in Lagos

​Challenge 2: Unequal access to water

• ​Only 40% of the city is connected to the state water supply.

• Existing pipes are old and sometimes get contaminated with sewage.

• Drinking water is in such high demand people have to pay extortionate prices to get it from informal sellers.

Solution: Top-down project - water kiosks

• ​The government has begun work on a $2.5 billion plan to improve supply.

• Water kiosks will be built around the city to provide improved access to clean drinking water.

• The kiosks will sell water at stable prices so that it is more affordable for the poorest citizens.

• People will also gain employment working in the kiosks.

• Water is still not free to poorest residents.

Open Ended

Explain how government water kiosks could help to improve the quality of life of poorer people in Lagos

​Challenge 3: Unequal access to education

• ​Whilst the average literacy rate in Lagos is 90%, in Makoko slum access to education is limited.

• There is only 1 primary school serving the entire slum.

• Many children do not go to school and instead work to support their family.

Solution: Bottom-up project -
Makoko Floating School

• Built in 2013 as a prototype for sustainable floating architecture.

• Funded by NGOs, the local council and the community themselves.

• Aims to give the poorest access to free education.

• Included classrooms and a playground/community area.

• Solar panels for lighting and rainwater collected for drinking.

How can education improve quality of life in Makoko?

• If slum children can go to school this means that they can attain qualifications to get better jobs.

• Therefore they will have more disposable income.

• Consequently, they can afford better accommodation, giving them better access to services.

• This will lead to a better quality of life for them and their family.

Open Ended

Why is providing children with education so important in Makoko?

​Impacts of Makoko Floating School

Multiple Select

Which are economic benefits of Makoko floating school? (2)

• Provided jobs for local teachers

• Ran on solar power

• Built with locally sourced materials

• Built by local workers who gained new skills

Open Ended

How will having solar panels and rainwater collection help students attending the school?

Open Ended

Why is Makoko Floating School considered a bottom-up project?

Drag and Drop

Summary: Makoko floating school was a ​

Placeholder

project because it had the ​

Placeholder

at its centre. Not only did it provide ​

Placeholder

to children, it also gave people ​

Placeholder

whilst also providing electricity, clean water and ​

Placeholder

.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

bottom-up

top-down

healthcare

money

community

education

skills and employment

sanitation

food

Evaluation: What are the disadvantages of this bottom-up project?

• Due to being a small-scale project it only served a small number of local people.

• During a large storm in 2016 the floating school collapsed and was destroyed.

• Even though the project was only a prototype, without government support it is still waiting for funding to be re-built.

Open Ended

Evaluate Makoko floating school - how successful do you think it was in meeting its aims? Give reasons for your opinion.

Categorize

Options (3)

Water kiosks

Bus rapid transit

Makoko Floating School

Match the problem to the solution

Poor access to clean water

Traffic congestion

Poor access to education

Drag and Drop

The top-down projects to improve quality of life in Lagos that I have studied are ​

Placeholder

and the Bus​

Placeholder

.

A bottom-up project I have studied is​

Placeholder

.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

water kiosks

Rapid Transit

Makoko Floating School

Fast Transport

Exam practice question:
'Evaluate the ways that the challenges of rapid urbanisation have been managed to improve the quality of life in a city you have studied'

(8 marks)

Multiple Select

What does the command word 'evaluate' require you to do?

• Describe the strategies

• Give your opinion on their effectiveness

• Consider both the the positives and negatives

'Evaluate the ways that the challenges of rapid urbanisation have been managed to improve the quality of life in a city you have studied'

(8 marks)

Multiple Choice

What does 'quality of life' mean?

• How wealthy people are

• How healthy people are

• How happy people are

• People's wealth, health and happiness

​Complete the question:

'Explain the ways that the challenges of rapid urbanisation have been managed to improve the quality of life in a city you have studied'

(8 marks)

Hint: Describe each top-down and bottom-up project, explain their impact and evaluate how effective they were in improving QoL.

Open Ended

'Explain the ways that the challenges of rapid urbanisation have been managed to improve the quality of life in a city you have studied' (8 marks)

Hint: Describe each top-down and bottom-up project, explain their impact and evaluate how effective they were in improving QoL.