City design and social exclusion : Abuja, Nigeria in review

Abstract

This thesis investigation explores the relationship between city design and social exclusion, and more specifically, how modernist principles of urban design and development policy have contributed to social exclusion in Abuja - the capital city of Nigeria. This study is facilitated through reading the city and its unique and common characteristics. Based on my experiences in the city over a three month period, I use my understanding of urban development, and relevant documents to examine the nature of exclusion in the Abuja plan and process of development. Front the results of this analysis the presence of exclusion in Abuja is enhanced by the use of colonial policies and selective use of modernist planning/processes of development. Furthermore, the relationship between social exclusion and city design in Abuja is the continuation of a legacy of colonial urban development and divisive urban form in traditional Nigerian cities.