Political Ecology of Flood Hazards in Lagos
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Keywords: Flooding, Lagos, Nigeria, Political Ecology, Urbanisation, Vulnerability
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract
Authors:
Marianne Odetola,
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Abstract
The city of Lagos is at risk from contemporary flooding and the impacts of climate change, namely increased rainfall intensity and sea-level rise. Drawing on a political ecology framework (Pelling 1999), this traces the roots of flooding and socio-spatial vulnerability to the colonial experience. I use archival data, supplemented with existing literature, to show how the British project of modernisation and urban development from 1860 to 1960 transformed Lagos, under the imaginary of a “great city of commerce” and “gateway to Nigeria,” and has produced a landscape prone to flooding increased exposure, reduced resilience and limited resistance. This paper argues that the British colonial administration of Lagos reconfigured human-environment relations, creating flood hazards and the need for flood management.
Political Ecology of Flood Hazards in Lagos
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Paper Abstract