Otodo Gbame Case Study

unidentified number of residents have been pronounced dead and families have been separated from their loved ones. The aftermath of the demolitions has also been dreadful as without any alternatives provided by the state, the residents have been forced to sleep under bridges, canoes or squat in abandoned buildings. With the case of Otodo-Gbame, one can see how history is repeating itself where state-led “land-grab”, urban renewal, gentrification, development based actions, often under the cloak of trying to save the community from the ills of slums and informal settlements, lead to violently displaced communities. This narrative is influenced by the bigger story which is that of “Africa rising”. The Lagos Government has defended itself …show more content…
However, with the new emergence of green technology and the search for more alternative sources of energy, coupled with the high-risk factor of conducting business in the nation, there has been a reduction in oil revenue for the state. This has necessitated a shift in revenue sources to more green and tourism opportunities, and in this case, the IIBC is the prime opportunity to do so. The Imperial International Business City is estimated to be around 200 hectares. The new city will be a mixed-use urban core which will inhabit residential and commercial activities and will be divided into three zones: inner city, waterways view and lagoon view. The co-investors: The Elegushi Royal Family and Messrs Channeldrill Resources Limited; a real estate company, who is one of the wealthiest families and corporations in Nigeria have claimed that this new development will pave the way for a new Lagos. The development of this new city proves exciting for Lagos’s elite who are involved in the project as it will drive economic activity and investment. The Lagos State Government also serves to benefit from this development as it would drive eco-tourism to the state and increase tax revenue. Not only is the proposed city economically beneficial to those directly involved in the development of the project and the Lagos state government, it also serves to benefit the ultra-rich in Lagos. There has been a growing interest in …show more content…
In the literature that discusses the dangers of gentrification, one of the factors commonly mentioned is the displacement of the original lower income residents and a subsequent replacement of higher income residents. This pattern of displacements has been common with gentrified neighborhoods, for example, Regent Park in Toronto and remains to be prevalent in more and more slum-regeneration