Get Guardian on GoogleThe Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Dr. David Olawale, has urged the Lagos State Government to make physical planning the foundation of the state’s development by ensuring the implementation of its master, model city and district plans.
He made the call in an address to mark the 2026 World Town Planning Day, themed: “Great communities are built on planning, ” organised by the chapter in Lagos.
Olawale said the theme was a pointer to the critical role of town planners in creating safe, inclusive, resilient, liveable and sustainable communities. He stated that great communities do not emerge by chance but are deliberately designed and planned.
Olawale highlighted that planning goes beyond the arrangement of buildings and roads, as it determines whether residents can access schools, healthcare, markets, jobs, transportation, recreation and other essential services safely and conveniently.
He said: “A great community is not just a collection of houses. It is a place where a child can walk safely to school, where a mother can go to a clean market and where a father can get to work without spending hours in traffic.”
The chairman further revealed that behind every functional community were planners who considered roads, drainage, schools, hospitals, markets, open spaces and housing before development commenced.
For him, orderliness, inclusiveness, resilience, liveability and sustainability are key characteristics of a great community.
Olawale lamented a contrasting development pattern in Lagos, where modern estates and world-class developments exist alongside informal settlements and communities characterised by blocked drainage channels, violations of building setbacks and developments undertaken without planning approval.
He said: “Lagos today is a city of contrasts. We have some of the most beautiful estates in Africa, and we also have some of the most challenged informal settlements,” he said.
According to him, the situation could only be reversed through a stronger commitment to physical planning and effective development control.
He appealed to the state government to ensure that its Master Plans, Model City Plans and District Plans were implemented rather than left on the shelves.
Olawale further charged developers and landowners to obtain the necessary planning approvals and respect approved plans.
He cautioned that developments undertaken without approval could pose serious risks to lives and communities and urged residents to see town planners as partners in community development rather than adversaries, particularly when enforcing setbacks, protecting drainage channels and preserving open spaces.
Besides, he tasked professional town planners to uphold professional ethics and resist compromising their integrity for short-term gains.
He added: “If planning fails, communities fail. But if planning succeeds, communities thrive.”
