How a road could change West Africa's urban future
The Lagos-Abidjan corridor in West Africa is undergoing rapid urbanization, with a $15 billion superhighway project intended to boost economic integration across five nations. Despite the potential for growth, urban experts are concerned about whether this development will foster genuine prosperity or exacerbate existing regional inequalities.
Why it matters
This infrastructure project represents a major shift in African urban development that could define the economic future of the continent's fastest-growing region.
A 600-mile journey along the shores of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast reveals one of the world’s most consequential transformations.
--> A set of coastal interconnected cities — between Lagos, Nigeria, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast — is expanding at an unprecedented rate.
Africa is the world’s youngest and fastest-growing continent.
By 2050, the Lagos-Abidjan region will be home to more than 50 million people.
But the vast potential of this region is barely being realized. This has led urban experts to question whether this growth is creating prosperity or new extremes.
For two weeks, NPR traveled along the Lagos-Abidjan corridor — a coastal region spanning Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast — documenting the pressures and possibilities reshaping everyday life.
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