Abstract:
Land is a factor of production, essential to the provision of urban housing and infrastructural services and the production of agricultural goods. The explosive growth of Lagos State, the nation’s commercial nerve center and former capital territory, will test the capacity of governments and private sectors to generate jobs and to provide land for services, infrastructure, and social supports necessary to sustain livable and stable environments. The paper, therefore, examined the operational modalities and the requirements for land delivery in both formal and informal land markets in the state. To accomplish this research, secondary data were collected from relevant agencies and authorities in the state through participant observation backed up with oral interviews. Consequently, problems emanating from both markets were discerned vis-à-vis their attendant policy implications. For instance, the study revealed, inter alia, the dual concept (nature) of land acquisition generally in the city, the cumbersome and bureaucratic process in the land delivery in the formal market in addition to the exorbitant prices of land, the state of insecurity of tenure in the formal sector. Thereafter, some conclusions were drawn with a view to improving housing provision in Lagos State. Keywords:
