“Lagosians have created an ‘open’ city, where people can shout, hide, protest, declare, report and gossip about their lives and their city wherever they are in the world”
Future Lagos will be hosting a tweetchat on 11 July 2015, 6-7pm (West Africa Time) to start to discuss how the internet is creating an open Lagos.
by Olamide Udoma
Openness in regards to the city can mean anything from accessibility to inclusivity.
Recently Lagos has seen itself manifested online through the voices and images of city dwellers and visitors alike. During the 2015 elections tens of thousands of people tweeted with the hashtag #nigeriadecides to have their say on what happens to Nigeria going forward. From the postponed date in February the hashtag grew with popularity to trend through the vote count in March. Lagosians were at the forefront of this movement and continue to represent their city via the internet.
Lagosians have created an ‘open’ city, where people can shout, hide, protest, declare, report and gossip about their lives and their city wherever they are in the world. With the continued growth of mobile phone sales and the promotion of cheap smartphones in the largest economy in Africa, there is no doubt that this new ‘open’ Lagos will continue to grow.
However, how does this online city influence what is happening on the ground? Can the internet connect citizens with the decision makers? And, can this connection result in an improved city and quality of life for citizens?
As part of #Open City Lagos, Future Lagos will be hosting a tweetchat on 11 July 2015, 6-7pm (West Africa Time), where with your help we will tackle some of these questions.
A tweetchat is just like any other discussion, except it happens on Twitter! If you’re already on Twitter, simply log-in at the designated time, follow the #OCLchat hashtag, and make sure you include the hashtag in your tweets if you want to join in.
About Open City Lagos
Open City Lagos is a project developed by Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS, Nigeria), Nsibidi Institute (Lagos) and Fabulous Urban (Zurich).
The Open City project aims to spark conversation on how space, urban planning and the collective strategies of urban actors shape the experience of living in Lagos. The project sets to explore the conditions that create and sustain ‘open city’ dynamics, engaging with thinkers and doers in Lagos across multiple platforms. Its intention is to identify how its citizens and their government can gain from the competitive advantage of diversity, mobility and access to complement on-going efforts to address the deep-seated and complex challenges facing Lagos. Towards this end, OCL will also initiate exchanges with other cities around the world where open city initiatives are evident, both through planned activities led by municipal authorities and the strategies taken up by local residents and groups.
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