A recent BBC report includes several opinions about the necessity to ‘build upwards’ to address Lagos’s uncontrolled and destructive urban sprawl, part of which is happening within Lekki, my area of study.
Another modern mega-city faces similar issues to Lagos, although with much more advanced technological means and infrastructure to tackle them. A major expansion of the city’s boundaries into Moscow Region a few years ago, the recent controversial renovation policies , expansion of the metro lines outside of the city’s boundaries and a series of other political decisions have been shaping the urban expansion of the metropolis.
Moscow Region: Unlike Lagos, which is becoming a city state with Ikeja as political centre, Moscow and Moscow Region are two inter-dependant but separate political entities with different governments, priorities and construction mechanisms. Whilst in Russia, I spoke to the chairman of Stroysoyuz, a major construction company operating in Lybertsy, a growing mainly residential suburb just outside of the city’s current boundary. Stroysoyuz has its own architecture department, finds land for its own projects and finances them too: this is representative of how the new ‘micro-suburbs’ – high-rise residential complexes are build around the city to address its growing population.
Mr Alexander S. told me the following:
– all of the ‘Micro-rayon’ (micro-suburb) projects are privately funded by the building enterprise itself. When the economy was at the peak, the company would have sufficient funds from the previous project to build a new one, however under the current recession they take a loan from a bank
– There amount of council (low-income) housing varies from scheme to scheme. Whilst previously the regional government bought the low-income apartments from the contractor, it now
– All development happening in Moscow region is under a tight grip of the regional governor’s office and my interviewee frequently meets Vorobiov (the governor) to agree on new projects.
– Although the new developments in the Region are directly related to what is happening in the city, there is little or no financial transactions happening between Moscow and the Region. In fact, it is difficult to determine which way the money should go: there are mutual benefits for both geographic entities from the growth of the commuters’ population.
Below: Moscow region on the map
Below: typical ‘micro-rayons’ outside of the city
no.balsa 