[blantyre bazaar]

Lagos must do better. Biggest city in the biggest economy shouldn't be looking like that.

 

[ILoveAbuja]

^^ How does it look? :|:|

 

[blantyre bazaar]

Looks chaotic.

 

[Tbite]

Doesn't look chaotic in that photo lol.

Maybe he is referring to the density in the foreground. Well there is no city in Africa without a low density foreground lol. And almost no city in the world without SOME low density... and it tends to be geographically constrained cities like Hong Kong.

If it is the spread of the city, well there is nothing you can really do when a skyline has sprawled. All we do is wait for consolidation.

 

[ILoveAbuja]

Looks chaotic.

No it doesn't. On the contrary, it looks decently laid-out and very green, which was the reason why I posted it. You probably need glasses.

 

[Afro Circus]

Edit..

 

[Wanyang]

Addis Ababa's rising skyline.

 

[NicSA]

No it doesn't. On the contrary, it looks decently laid-out and very green, which was the reason why I posted it. You probably need glasses.

Lagos should learn from cities like Bangkok or Shanghai how to use its rivers and coastline effectively. Very few large African cities have so many waterways and it can make for a very nice city. E.g. Bangkok is probably a realistic model for Lagos to aspire to. Still chaotic but reasonably developed. Joburg has no waterways or coastline which really limits it as a city:

 

[Tbite]

I agree with you, I just thought he was holding up Lagos to the yardstick of African cities.

The image shown was hardly below the level of organization of other African cities. So I suppose that was what shocked us...in that it was that particular image that drew the comment. By such lofty standards, the only cities that wouldn't draw immense criticism here would be Capetown, maybe Sandton, the Luanda waterfront (only) and maybe a few isolated examples.

The waterways argument is clear. I don't think there are many cities in the world, forget Africa that have waterways as good as Lagos. (I am sure Popa1980 will disagree) but there really aren't that many. It goes beyond even what you realize. Did you know that the old suburbs of Lagos have canals? Eko Atlantic City is not the first to have it in Lagos. So you have canals all over Lagos and in Eko Atlantic, you have the Lagoon which is one of the largest in Africa, you have the Atlantic Ocean etc.

but it is changing. I don't think it was the priority in the past, but it is becoming one slowly. The Eko Atlantic City promenade for example will be the longest continuous promenade in the world (and possibly also the widest). There is now a plan to redevelop the Marina in Lagos Island (which fortunately shouldn't be difficult, since there are really no buildings there, just car parks which can easily be torn up) as well, and there are resorts springing up all along the coastline.

 

[odilrak]

on the rooftops and streets of Luanda

 

[ILoveAbuja]

I agree with you, I just thought he was holding up Lagos to the yardstick of African cities.

The image shown was hardly below the level of organization of other African cities. So I suppose that was what shocked us...in that it was that particular image that drew the comment. By such lofty standards, the only cities that wouldn't draw immense criticism here would be Capetown, maybe Sandton, the Luanda waterfront (only) and maybe a few isolated examples.

Even Cape Town and Sandton aren't great by global standards. The beauty of Cape Town's skyline is primarily based on the table mountain, not the buildings. Sandton essentially has no skyline, but it is trying to shape one - which is great!

Same story with Luanda (the waterfront); I consider it to be beautiful most times, but it definitely can't be compared to global cities. However, it is certainly in the right direction.

The story is similar across Africa... The great thing though is, unless you have an already formed skyline, like Cape Town or Jo'burg or North African cities, you still have the chance to forge a beautiful one, so I believe most African cities would do great!

 

[Kenyan_yungin]

Mombasa, Kenya

​

 

[Kenyan_yungin]

Addis Ababa's rising skyline.

Impressive transformation.

 

[Afro Circus]

Johannesburg​

 

[Afro Circus]

Abidjan​

An old abidjan pic, always looked good

 

[port harcourt city]

Looks chaotic.

not at all. lagos is better now and i can testify to that because i visited the city three weeks ago. even the mainland has seen a fabulous attention.:banana::banana:

 

[odilrak]

Maputo 2019

 

[port harcourt city]

Abuja City

 

[port harcourt city]

Abuja is my city. the city is transforming itself from just being Nigeria Capital to an economic hub. last week i saw more new cranes coming up.

 

[odilrak]