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The video "Welcome to Lagos" sympathetically investigates the lifestyles of garbage pickers at a large dump in Lagos, Nigeria. The video points out how very little waste is squandered by slum dwellers in a megacity and how necessity has created a highly resourceful civil society.
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Welcome to Lagos from Oo Nwoye on Vimeo. |
Housing
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The rapid growth of megacity populations result in significant challenges in accomodating people. homelessles, squatting and slum areas are all common place. Slums often form in the least desirable places.
Megacities are well know for containing slums, areas of makeshift or substandard housing. Slums create a significant range of problems for megacities as their chaotic and close knit nature make it very difficult to improve infrastructure within a slum area. The absence of services also make slums very unhealthy places while their building materials make them quite hazardous. |
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Traffic infrastructure
With over 10 million residents, traffic in megacities can be dire. The dropping rates of extreme poverty in the world also make the ownership of a vehicle more common for the world's population and consequently make traffic worse.
Traffic in megacities is make more problematic by two features. Firstly, the variation in vehicles can inhibit vehicle movement. It is not uncommon in megacities for 2 stroke engine taxis (such as Auto-rickshaws and "tuk tuks"), cycle rickshaws, bullocks, elephants, motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks to all share the same roads. As these vehicles move at different top speeds and with different maneuverability they can block each others flow.
Traffic in megacities is also hampered by a culture of "unstandardised" driver training. Without a significant culture of road rules traffic becomes more gridlocked.
Traffic in megacities is make more problematic by two features. Firstly, the variation in vehicles can inhibit vehicle movement. It is not uncommon in megacities for 2 stroke engine taxis (such as Auto-rickshaws and "tuk tuks"), cycle rickshaws, bullocks, elephants, motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks to all share the same roads. As these vehicles move at different top speeds and with different maneuverability they can block each others flow.
Traffic in megacities is also hampered by a culture of "unstandardised" driver training. Without a significant culture of road rules traffic becomes more gridlocked.
Water and sanitation supplies
Clean, running water and sewage removal are essential for health and disease control in any place. They are both significant challenges for megacities. Firstly, because of the inability to provide water into slum areas. Secondly, because the old colonial infrastructure in many megacities in unable to deal with the volume and new materials in sewer systems.
Megacities in developing nations vary in the provision of water into homes, however, nearly all megacities faced water scarcity on 2010. Cities such as Delhi and Sāo Paulo have experiences significant drought periods in recent history.
Some example rates of water access are given below.
Jakarta and Dhaka 10-20% - Cairo and Istanbul 40% - Rio De Janeiro 55% - Manila and Shanghai are atypical with 95-100%
Many cities rely on groundwater extraction with is unsustainable. Megacities also have options for significant gains from wastewater treatment and loss reduction from leaking infrastrucure.
Megacities in developing nations vary in the provision of water into homes, however, nearly all megacities faced water scarcity on 2010. Cities such as Delhi and Sāo Paulo have experiences significant drought periods in recent history.
Some example rates of water access are given below.
Jakarta and Dhaka 10-20% - Cairo and Istanbul 40% - Rio De Janeiro 55% - Manila and Shanghai are atypical with 95-100%
Many cities rely on groundwater extraction with is unsustainable. Megacities also have options for significant gains from wastewater treatment and loss reduction from leaking infrastrucure.
Electricity services
Electricity supplies are often inadequate and unreliable in megacities resulting in frequent blackouts and brown outs. Power outages reduce foreign investment and quality of living for residents.
Power theft is also rampant in megacities.
Without electricity for cooking, biomass (such as wood or dung) is often used by the poorest households contributing to low air quality and greater household fire risk.
Megacities residents, however, see great advantage in renewable energy both for the ability to no longer be reliant on the grid and being able to supply the minuscule power needs for slum families.
Power theft is also rampant in megacities.
Without electricity for cooking, biomass (such as wood or dung) is often used by the poorest households contributing to low air quality and greater household fire risk.
Megacities residents, however, see great advantage in renewable energy both for the ability to no longer be reliant on the grid and being able to supply the minuscule power needs for slum families.
Employment
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Megacities have rapidly growing populations and job creation cannot match this pace of growth. However, informal economic activity frequently a large part of the economy. This leaves cities without revenue to provide adequate services and informal economic conditions make wages and conditions difficult to regulate.
However, informal economic activity is not necessarily black market activity. |
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Other social and health issues
Megacities often have high levels of inequality.
In some megacities, high inequality and large populations of people who have recently arrived without a strong social network has led to high levels of violent crime, organised crime, begging and petty theft being more common place .
Air pollution and communicable disease are considered greater threats to health in megacities.
In some megacities, high inequality and large populations of people who have recently arrived without a strong social network has led to high levels of violent crime, organised crime, begging and petty theft being more common place .
Air pollution and communicable disease are considered greater threats to health in megacities.