Lagos to Clamp Down on Informal Spaces, Strengthen Urban Planning Control

The Lagos State Government has announced plans to tighten control over the use of informal public spaces as part of efforts to restore order and strengthen urban planning across the state.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, made this known while presenting the ministry’s roadmap for the year, stressing that the move is anchored on the provisions of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2019, as amended.

Olumide said the law empowers the ministry to oversee land use, coordinate development and regulate spatial activities, responsibilities that extend to areas currently being used informally without official approval.

He explained that informal spaces  such as road setbacks, pedestrian walkways, areas beneath bridges, drainage alignments and idle government lands — have increasingly been taken over for unapproved activities, creating threats to public safety, traffic flow and environmental health.

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According to the commissioner, the state intends to assume full administrative oversight of such areas to improve land-use control, ensure integrated urban development and check unchecked activities along major corridors, entry points and transitional zones in Lagos.

As part of the strategy, Olumide disclosed that the government would roll out broad-based consultations and sensitisation programmes involving key stakeholders, including relevant ministries and agencies, market leaders, transport unions, community heads and other interest groups, to secure buy-in and compliance.

He noted that the initiative goes beyond enforcement, describing it as a deliberate effort to promote order, enhance the city’s outlook, improve the functionality of public spaces and safeguard the physical environment.

The commissioner added that proper management of informal spaces would boost mobility, safety and environmental quality, while contributing to a more liveable city in line with Lagos’ aspiration to become a resilient and inclusive megacity.

He assured residents that the ministry would rely on professional planning standards, strong inter-agency cooperation and community participation to implement the exercise in a transparent, lawful and sustainable manner.