The Lagos State Government has stated that it is set to take decisive steps to regulate and administer informal spaces across the state, in line with its physical planning mandate.The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, made this known recently while outlining the ministry’s strategic direction for the coming year.He explained that the ministry would invoke the powers conferred on it by the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, 2019 (as amended), to ensure orderly land use and sustainable urban growth.He said, “The law vests the ministry with the statutory responsibility for physical planning, land-use management, development coordination, and the regulation of spatial activities across the state, mandates that clearly encompass the administration of informal spaces.
Informal spaces are public open areas not designated for permanent use but increasingly occupied without planning approval, adding that the uncontrolled use of road setbacks, walkways, under-bridge areas, drainage corridors, and undeveloped government land poses risks to safety, mobility, and the environment.
According to him, the planned assumption of full administrative control over informal spaces is aimed at strengthening land-use planning, achieving integrated urban development, and curbing unregulated activities in key corridors, gateways, and transitional zones across the state.He disclosed, “Plans have been concluded to embark on extensive sensitisation and engagement of internal and external stakeholders, including government agencies, market associations, transport unions, community leaders, and other interest groups, as such engagement will be critical to ensuring cooperation, compliance, and shared ownership of the initiative.
The intervention is not merely regulatory but strategic, as it seeks to promote orderliness at the frontiers of the state, enhance urban aesthetics, improve the functionality of public spaces, and protect the integrity of the physical environment.”He further stated that effective control of informal spaces would contribute to improved mobility, safety, environmental quality, and the overall liveability of Lagos, while aligning with the state’s vision for a resilient, inclusive, and well-planned megacity.
The commissioner reaffirmed the commitment of the ministry to deploy professional planning tools, inter-agency collaboration, and community participation to ensure that the exercise is carried out in a transparent, lawful, and sustainable manner.
