Urbanization is a global phenomenon that is currently sweeping through developing countries like wildfire. As a result of the magnitude and speed of urbanization in these countries, many governments appear overwhelmed and unable to cope with its challenges. Consequently, basic infrastructure and services are rarely provided as urban growth proceeds haphazardly with severe threats to the well-being of the people and society. Lagos, Nigeria is one of the largest urban areas in the developing world which is currently grappling with the challenges of urbanization, especially in the area of housing provision. The present work has been motivated by the current severe inadequate housing in Lagos. It is based on an extensive literature review and archival retrieval of historical documents. The paper identified some salient features of the urbanization process in Lagos, Nigeria and the challenges they pose to adequate housing. These include rapid population growth and changing demographic structure; poverty and unemployment; difficulties in accessing housing delivery inputs; and lack of adequate capacity on the part of the government. The paper further examined the implications of these challenges for providing housing, especially for poor households and concluded that urbanization of developing cities if properly managed should bring about economic and social development.

Urbanization is not a recent phenomenon. Since the early 1800s, movements of people especially from the rural areas to more urban areas have been recorded. Consequently, the population of people residing in urban areas increased from 13% in 1900 to 49% in 2005. Numerically, this represented a move from 220 million people in 1900 to 3.2 billion people in 2005. By 2011, there were already 480 cities with populations in excess of one million as against 80 of such cities in 1950. Currently, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. More than three billion people currently reside in urban centers and this figure is expected to rise to five billion by 2050. Perhaps most striking is the fact that most of the population growth in the coming decades will occur in low- and middle-income countries. Africa is reportedly a late starter in the urbanization race. However, it is urbanizing at such an alarming rate that predictions suggest Africa will enter the urban age around 2030 when half of Africans will live in urban areas . Nigeria is notably the most populous African nation and is predicted to drive this population growth.