Öz
In recent years, the rate of urbanization has been increasing on
the African continent, which has the least urbanization rate in the world. Especially, West
Africa is the fastest urbanizing sub-region of the continent after East Africa. At this point,
the countries and cities in this sub-region of the continent face a wide range of problems
due to the increasing population and urbanization rate. In addition, there are significant
differences in the patterns of urban development across Africa and in terms of how they
are defined and interpreted.
In this context, the aim of the study is to examine the cities and urbanization movements
in West Africa from the past to the present in the case of Lagos. The study is based on
literature review. It consists of three parts. At first, the situation of the cities in West Africa
is examined. Economic growth and development in the region and the status of
infrastructure and services are examined. Secondly, the general condition in Nigeria was
analyzed. Finally, Lagos, an important city in Nigeria, was selected and the urban
development process and problems faced by the city were examined. Moreover, this is
the first study to examine the city of Lagos from the past to the present in the urban
science literature in Turkey.