City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

• Community initiatives need to be respected, accepted and supported by professionals and governments. Community participation is less of a challenge as most communities are trying to solve their problems. • Master plans are required to document existing and planned work, and should take into account surrounding areas to avoid duplication and resource wastage.

• Continuity of work benefits from working with teams within government departments, rather than with just the head of the department.

The OPP-RTI’s Low Cost Sanitation Program has now extended to service all of Orangi town, resulting in significant health and environmental improvements in the neighbourhoods it has affected. Over 105,670 poor households have invested Rs118.7 million (approximately US$1.2 million) in secondary, lane sewers and sanitary latrines, and government has invested Rs807.2 million (approximately US$8.2 million) on main disposals. The model has been replicated by 421 other settlements in Karachi, along with 32 cities/towns and 93 villages covering a population of more than 2 million. The project is an inspiring example of how small scale community-driven interventions – in this case at the level of the lane – can be connected to large government projects to meet the seemingly overwhelming challenges of service extension to the urban poor in a collaborative manner.

13. A simple approach to BRT in Lagos, Nigeria 93

By Dr. Ibidun Adelekan (University of Ibadan)

Lagos is the hub of business and economic development in Nigeria, and the foremost manufacturing and port city in West Africa. From 305,000 inhabitants in 1950, Lagos’s population has expanded to about 18 million.The phenomenal increase in population and economic growth of Lagos has resulted in the spatial integration of central Lagos with its surrounding settlements and those of the neighbouring Ogun state, aided by an expansive road network. Until recently, however, Lagos was the only mega-city without any organized public transport system. Before public transport, Lagos' 5,180 km of roads facilitated approximately six million passenger trips across the city daily, of which about 75 per cent were transported by the 100,000 passenger buses of different types operated by the private sector. Many of these vehicles were old and in a state of disrepair with serious impacts on the surrounding environment. Rising incomes also led to greater ownership of private vehicles and the proliferation of motorcycles in the city. The existing road network was grossly inadequate, with insufficient tarred roads to meet the needs of the city’s population, a limited number of multi-lane arterial roads and generally poor maintenance conditions. The typical journey for commuters from the main residential areas to the north and west of the city to Lagos Island, the largest commercial and central business district in Lagos, could take more than two hours, resulting in time wastage and economic losses. The urban transport system

38