The Limits of Public-Private Partnerships in Urban Marketplace Modernization: Insights from Lagos

Keywords: public-private partnerships, urban marketplaces, forced evictions, commercial gentrification
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

Traditional African marketplaces provide essential public space and local socio-cultural functions; however, rapid urbanization creates new pressures and incentives in Global South cities. Growing commercial gentrification literature on Anglophone West Africa highlights the increasing risk of these marketplaces’ extinction due to incessant urban displacements. In Lagos, Nigeria, state-led urban reform policies often offered these sites for private-sector-led investments via different public-private partnerships (PPP) modes. However, these private developers frequently lack a grasp of the everyday local market politics and financing. These observations question the privatization process, including the selection and contract details, often shrouded in secrecy. How “private” are these private investors? Shedding new light on the limits of the PPP model in this context can expand our understanding of the urbanization processes in African cities. This paper adopts a mixed methods approach and the lenses of commercial gentrification and crony capitalism theories to develop a typology of developer-led marketplace renewal practices and outcomes. Over the last 25 years, this study found that a range of concessionary approaches, urban actors, and government agents dominate this reform process. However, the regional and municipal authorities have been most notorious for forced evictions of marketplaces. Proposed project timelines were almost always unrealistic, and thus, a worrying pattern of abandonments evolved despite the grand futuristic visions promoted at inception, with many promises remaining unfulfilled. The paper suggests a pathway for urban policy reforms to generate more efficient and inclusive outcomes by focusing on how PPPs are promoted and realized, including their quotidian limitations.