Olomola Lecture: Experts advocate inclusive urban planning

Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, NITP, Lagos Chapter, Mr Kunle Salami, has called for inclusive urban planning to achieve the sustainable Lagos smart city.

Salami made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, July 26, 2018 on the sideline of the maiden edition of Dr Femi Olomola Annual Lecture, organised by the institute in Lagos.

He said for an achievable and effective integrated urban development in Lagos, governments at all levels must ensure an intensive engagement with the stakeholders, professionals and other relevant bodies.

Lack of this was one of the reasons why Lagos seemed to lack coherent and integrated urban development.

He said citizens needed to be engaged right from the conceptualisation of the plan, to design, implementation and review, stressing the need for regular interface between the governance and the governed.

According to him, to achieve the desired sustainable and inclusive development, the Lagos State government must adopt a people-centered approach in undertaking urban planning.

"Moving toward people-centered urban planning requires a restructuring of policy-making process and a restructuring of jurisdictional responsibility in physical planning and development.

"A dynamic process must evolve where governments will have to transform from regulating and approving institutions to bodies that enable and collaborate with citizens to respond to their needs," he said.

Salami lamented that several regeneration/redevelopment plans had been prepared, but that the government lacked the will to faithfully commit to them.

"Often times, while those laws remain unimplemented, untried and untested to discover the lacunae, we begin to clamour for an amendment, a review or a totally new formulation.

"Unfortunately, things don't suddenly change for the better with a 'do nothing' approach; neither do they change through prayer and fasting only," he added.