From Tenement to Townhouse: Documenting the Gentrification of Old Lagos

Lagos Island, once the colonial capital and the heart of indigenous "Face-Me-I-Face-You" tenement life, is undergoing a profound social and architectural skin-graft. The "Tenement" (multi-family dwellings with shared facilities) is being razed to make way for the "Townhouse."

The gentrification of Old Lagos (Isale Eko, Olowogbowo, and Ebute Metta) is driven by land value. As Victoria Island and Ikoyi become saturated and prohibitively expensive, developers are looking at the "dilapidated" inner city. By pooling family lands (a process often facilitated by the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency - LASURA), small, crumbling tenements are replaced by multi-story, gated townhouses.

​Gentrification is a double-edged sword. While it improves the "standard of living" and property values:

• ​Loss of Heritage: The unique Brazilian-style architecture of the 19th-century "Aguda" settlers is being lost to generic modern designs.

• ​Economic Eviction: Original residents, often petty traders or artisans, can no longer afford the service charges of the new developments, forcing them to the outskirts like Ikorodu or Mowe.

​Ebute Metta is the "Brooklyn" of Lagos. Once a sleepy railway town, its proximity to the Island has made it a hotspot for young professionals. Old colonial bungalows are being flipped into "Studio Apartments" for the tech-savvy Gen Z and Millennial workforce.

The shift from tenement to townhouse represents the inevitable "cleaning up" of the megacity, but it poses a challenge for 2025