5.3 b) Banana Island and Makoko Slum Case Study Flashcards
(14 cards)
What evidence is there of Banana Islands wealth status?
- Segregation
- Environment- Large amount of open space between housing for parking and well organised roads.
- Economic- Technological leapfrogging- average person does not have a home line- EDC. As soon as they were rich enough to buy a house they already had a mobile phone- no need for landline.
- Helipads and electrical pylons
- Has security gates and posts upon entry.
- Has an international school- multicultural and independent- increase in wealth
- Staff and security- drones and regular maintenance.
- Drainage and street lights
- Shuttle service
Professionals which provide a service for the population- quality of life remains high
What else shows the wealth of Banana Island?
- The island is man-made found in the neighbourhood Ikoyi
- The island was completed in 2000 and it is populated by the countries richest and most well-known families
- The land on Banana Island is worth $1,101 per square meter with detached houses starting at $2.75 million- most homes are terraced as land prices are so high
- One of the condo developments- Ocean Parade has amenities such as tennis courts, an Olympic- size poll, 2 gyms and children’s areas
- House heights are capped at 3 stories- most homes have pools and gyms
- The island has 2 parks and offers tranquillity and safety as to enter the island you have to be invited and you have to enter through a security gate
- “Having a presence in Banana island is an indication of your societal class”
- Most schools on the island stop after primary level as people tend to send children to boarding schools in the UK and the US
What characterises makoko slum?
- Densely packed housing
- Half underwater- use wooden boats as means of transport.
- Not properly constructed houses- built from scraps and other materials.
- No proper waste disposal- rubbish is floating around in the water. This can lead to waterborne diseases- cholera, typhoid, e-coli.
- Lack of clean water.
- Financial issues for education.
- 10,000 children in Makoko do not go to school.
UNICEF- 60% of Nigerian girls are out of school.
What shows the deprivation of Makoko slum?
- The Makoko slum is positioned in full view beneath the most travelled bridge in west Africa’s megalopolis
- Many people are partly employed in sand dredging an incredibly dangerous job involving diving to the depths of the lagoon to bring up buckets of sand- fishing on lagoon. Imports of fish from the north sea- smoked and sold. Informal economy.
- Residents are sometimes given just a 72 hour notice before Government workers with machetes destroy their homes- occasionally people are killed during the demolitions and sometimes demolition workers set fire to homes- 30,000 have been left homeless
- Makoko is made up of 6 ‘villages’ - 4 in the water and 2 on land. The population varies widely from 40,000 to as much as 300,00- there is no credible data available
- Presiding over each part of Makoko are local chiefs-Baales. There are only 2 schools in Makoko
- Many residents in Makoko are wary of visitors who frequently breeze past taking photos of their living conditions- some people sell photos taken in Makoko, profiting off of others’ poverty
- The residents of Makoko have put together a regeneration plan to try to improve the area
- Makoko’s biggest health challenges are not communicable- they are malaria, respiratory diseases and malnutrition
- Doctors Without Borders opened a floating clinic but it lasted less than a year- it did not have enough patients
Informal and illegal settlement- so large it becomes a problem for the local government. Coming out of the international airport- is the first thing that you see.
If the government start to provide services- it legitimises the slum as an actual place. Charities provide the most funding. NGO’s are heavily involved here- improve standard of living.
No infrastructure- fire risk. Illegally take electricity from the local grid- increased risk of fire form overloading. Much of the slum is built on wood.
What is housing like in Makoko slum?
Houses are made of scavenged materials, such as wood and corrugated iron.
Houses not built properly; vulnerable to destruction in storms/fires.
What is health like in makoko slum?
High fertility rate suggests lack of healthcare (no access to contraception).
Flooding causes poor sanitation and waterborne diseases (eg. cholera) to spread.
High levels of malnourishment
What is education like in Makoko slum?
10,000 children don’t go to school.
Teachers get paid $1/day.
Less than 10% are educated (even to a primary level); only 2 primary schools in the whole slum
Floating school (floats on a bed of plastic barrels).
What is wealth like in Makoko slum?
Can’t afford food, leading to high levels of malnourishment.
Low education levels mean people can’t get skilled jobs; stuck in the cycle of poverty.
Most residents earn around $1.25 per day
What is access to services like in Makoko slum?
Makoko is closer to percieved job opportunities than other slums in Lagos, but most people aren’t skilled enough for these so work in the slum (eg. fixing boat engines).
No raods; have to travel by boat.
No clean areas for shoe-less children to play; dirty, stagnant water; no clean sanitation
What is housing like in Banana Island?
One part is purely residential with houses only allowed to be 3 stories high so as not to disrupt the view; most still have pools and gyms
Houses built on solid foundations and out of proper building materials, so are stable.
Starting price of a detached house is $2.75 million.
2 or 3 workers are forced to share one small room.
What is health like in banana island?
Rubbish frequently collected and streets cleaned to prevent diseases from spreading.
Only one medical centre on the island but quick access to other hospitals just inland.
Drains are cleaned every morning, preventing the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera.
What is education like in Banana island?
Independent international schools; mainly primary as people send their children to boarding schools in the UK/US for secondary education => expensive to be an international student at a boarding school.
What is wealth like in Banana Island?
The rich exploit the poor workers and then dont pay them (want them to stay poor).
Most people are millionaires/billionaires
The richest man spends 8000 times more per day than the poorest spend in a year
Many wealthy businessmen/government officials and ex-pats from the UK/US live here.
What is access to cervices like in Banana Island?
Clear, organised roads which are regularly cleaned to ensure that debris does not cause traffic.
Condo developments have pools, gyms, tennis courts and childrens play areas.
2 parks on the island (green space).
