ABSTRACT

In recent years, urban renewal has become a major policy issue in response to growing urban decay. One of the key characteristics of the execution of urban renewal policies in Nigeria is the forcible eviction of inhabitants in areas marked for renewal. This chapter focuses on the processes and implementation of urban renewal schemes, and the attendant socio-economic and psychological consequences in Lagos Nigeria. Many seminal works have highlighted the latent and manifest benefits of urban renewal initiatives. It examines the implementation of the urban renewal schemes of the Lagos State Government, with a view to reviewing its activities in the displacement of people from places marked for renewal and to evaluating the plight of these forcibly evicted persons. Virtually all participants agreed that they were forcibly evicted and displaced, and had experienced dire consequences as a result of a socio-environmental urban renewal process.