The article provides insights into how a Private Sector Partnership (PSP) between government and local firms in Lagos, Nigeria, became enmeshed in local politics. Drawing largely on primary data, it reports that aided by a discourse which positioned the PSP as the embodiment of local interests, the partnership was deployed by politicians to generate political capital. Furthermore, Mega Infrastructure Projects (MIP s) paved the way for the government to intervene in the partnership. The hiring of a foreign firm by the government was seen by local firms as an attempt to marginalise them and by politicians as a challenge to entrenched local powers. Local firms fought back by creating strategic alliances and networks with politicians. Hence, the PSP was turned into a site of resistance politics. Ultimately, the saga led to the unravelling of the partnership. At the broadest level, the article highlights how globally circulating neoliberal urban visions are grounded within specific cities.

Inappropriate management of municipal solid waste dumpsites is a major cause of groundwater contamination in developing countries, but the extent of the problem is not known. This study investigated groundwater quality in the vicinity of Olusosun dumpsite in Lagos, Nigeria, the most populous city in sub-Saharan Africa. During 2020, monthly groundwater samples were collected in 17 wells and boreholes used as drinking water sources, and analysed for 20 physico-chemical parameters. Differences between sites and seasons were statistically assessed, together with changes in water quality index (WQI). The results indicated that heavy metals (Pb²⁺, Ni⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Cr⁶⁺), cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺), total hardness and pH were the main parameters impairing water quality. Drinking water quality standards from both the World Health Organization and Nigeria government were exceeded more often in the wet season than in the dry season. Some groundwater properties were negatively correlated with distance to dumpsite (e.g., Fe²⁺, Pb²⁺, NO₃⁻). Significant differences between sites were identified, but with no clear spatial trend. WQI varied from excellent (6%–24% of the sites over the study period) to unsuitable for drinking water purposes (12%–18%), with good quality prevailing at most sites (35%–47%). Although groundwater quality declined at 24% of the sites over 2020, the results indicated improvements compared with previous decades. Remediation strategies must be implemented to safeguard public health and the sustainability of water resources.

The article examines the criminalization of street vendors in Abuja, Nigeria. It draws on the debate on informality, legality and rights, to highlight the tensions surrounding the law as a mode of regulation. As documented, ideology provides the rationale for the criminalization of street vending. The activity is deemed inimical to the modernist ideals of a clean and functioning city. Enforcement of the law is accompanied by the harassment of vendors. However, vendors remain on the streets by circumventing the law. The article highlights the shortcomings of a simplistic approach to the governance of informality. It cannot be legislated away.

The article examines how street vendors in Abuja, Nigeria are experiencing and responding to the attempts to restrict their access to public space. Modernist planning and the increasing trend in the privatization of public space is limiting the amount and types of public spaces available to street vendors. Drawing largely on primary research, the article reports that street vendors are responding by adopting a range of spatial, relational and temporal tactics. Specifically, it cites the Ready-to-Run tactic, relocating to relatively more secure sites, informal relations and networks and operating at certain times of the day. Access to the street and mobility are key factors that shape the types of tactics adopted. Vendors prioritize proximity to the street in order to maximize access to potential customers. The highly mobile vendors are more likely to adopt spatial and temporal tactics, while the less mobile tend to rely on informal relations and networks. Furthermore, in the absence of formal organizing, individual agency is more prevalent. Where collective agency exists, it is often a response to an immediate challenge. Gender and age influence the experiences of vendors and the tactics adopted. The Abuja case is a notable example of the link between modernist planning, particularly the master plan approach and socio-spatial exclusion. As a city built from scratch, the plan laid the foundation for socio-spatial exclusion by planning the poor out of the city. The plan remains at the centre of contemporary urban politics, notably the relations between the state and informal workers.

The paper examines the tensions that accompany slum upgrading in the era of world-class city construction. The focus is a slum upgrading project in Lagos, Nigeria. The paper observes the intertwining of modernist and neoliberal ideologies in world-class city construction and in slum upgrading projects. The entanglement centres on a number of shared interests; the prioritization of infrastructure and notions about urban space, participation and citizenship. As documented, the project and by extension world-class city construction fails to acknowledge the livelihoods of the poor and is undermined by protests. Historical legacies and systemic failings of governance present additional obstacles. The paper seeks to broaden the scope of world-class city research by acknowledging the local context, but at the same time recognizing the global links. Along these lines, the paper suggests that slum upgrading provides an opportunity to examine how the local is inserted into the global.

In today’s globalized world, mega infrastructure projects have emerged as one of the most popular strategies for attracting private capital and repositioning cities on the competitive landscape. The Lagos Megacity Project (LMCP) was launched to address a longstanding infrastructure crisis and to reinvent Lagos as a modern megacity. Using the LMCP as a case study, the paper examined the challenges facing the funding of mega infrastructure projects. Special attention is given to how capital is mobilized, the kinds of alliances or networks found and what gets prioritized. The paper observed that the alliance formed between the federal, Lagos and Ogun state governments to mobilize public funds quickly unraveled largely due to disputes traceable to the apportioning of fiscal and political responsibilities and the distribution of functions between the different tiers of government. Under the LMCP, disputes emerged between the federal government and the Lagos State Government (LSG) over who was responsible for what. A history of opposition politics and a highly politicized resource allocation system further made cooperation between the two particularly difficult. Furthermore, the LMCP signalled a renewed drive by the LSG to attract private investments through public–private partnership. The paper noted a host of problems but crucially there is a preference for elite projects, a practice that is reinforcing socio-spatial exclusion and confirms the persistent inequalities that accompany neoliberal and modernist projects. At the broadest level, the paper points to how modernist projects are fractured or undermined by specific ideologies and practices.

The scope of the problem of waste management in African cities continues to change across space and time in line with changing socio-economic, political and environmental conditions. Crucially, the failure of the formal systems has paved the way for the informal sector. The overall aim of the book is to capture the dynamism and complexity of Informal Sector Solid Waste Management (ISSWM). The main argument is that while the poverty reduction potential of ISSWM remains valid and is acknowledged; there are broader issues to consider.

Climate change is arguably the most debated and contentious environmental issue today. Hitherto neglected, the role of cities is beginning to attract attention particularly within the academic milieu. Cities are acknowledged as development drivers but also considered major drivers of climate change as a result of activities associated with the release of harmful substances such as carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is noted as a major contributor to climate change due to the release of harmful substances during waste treatment and disposal activities. MSWM remains a challenge across the globe but particularly in the South where many cities lack regular waste collection and disposal services. The paper addresses the gap between the North and South through a critical analysis of the current global debate on cities, MSWM and climate change. The paper reports that there are major differences between the North and South in almost all components of MSWM, from waste generation to treatment and disposal. The shift in priority from local burdens to the global concern for climate has occurred mainly in the North. The priorities and needs of cities in the South are largely neglected in the global debate. A major example is the failure to acknowledge the role of the Informal Waste Sector (IWS) even though it is a prominent feature of MSWM systems and a notable contributor to resource recovery in cities in the South. Lessons from the South suggest that climate change cannot be treated in isolation. Recognition of the role of the IWS is crucial because it introduces other important issues such as urban poverty, local economic development, urban governance and exclusionary practices and citizenship rights. The paper suggests the need for a more inclusive approach if we are to have a truly global solution to climate change.