Traditional revolution : formalizing the informal : a proposal for the "periphery urbanite" Lagos, Abuja & Port-Harcourt

Abstract

The inherited modernist principles of urban design and development policy have left Social exclusion in its wake.The cities founded during colonial times and there-after continue the legacy of colonial urban development. Within these formal networks of roads and infrastructure, there exist a dynamic relationship between the excluded and the included. An informal network permeates the system with an aim to constantly push against barriers and force their way further in amidst the included. At the bottom of this network exist the Waste pickers also known as scavengers. Perceived as the poorest of the poor and marginal to mainstream economy and society.The individualistic nature of their activities makes them vulnerable to exploitation, but with people migrating to the city everyday from rural areas,The job as a waste picker is where they start their climb up the social ladder.This thesis investigation explores the part played by these individual waste pickers in the collection of refuse and proposes a system that formalizes the informal, A system in which Instead of being a problem, waste pickers can be part of the solution to the seemingly intractable problem of collection and disposal of solid wastes in Nigeria.