A periodized socio-political reading of Lagos' green spaces, Nigeria

While Africa is the world's most rapidly urbanizing continent, the scholarly literature on its urban green spaces is lacking compared to that on the global North, particularly regarding humanities-oriented historical and political dimensions. This article addresses this gap by providing a periodized socio-political reading of green spaces in Lagos, Nigeria – Africa's largest urban conurbation. Using a political ecology framework, this study traces the evolution of parks and gardens across a tripartite chronology: the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial eras. The findings reveal a dramatic shift in the perception and utility of urban nature. In the pre-colonial period, "Oko" (farm) was synonymous with "town," characterized by communal land use, natural vegetation, and sacred groves accessible to all without social or racial restriction. The colonial era introduced a top-down governmentality, where green infrastructure – such as the Lagos Race Course and private botanical gardens – became instruments of imperial power, enforcing racial segregation and class divisions between the well-serviced European quarters and the neglected indigenous mainland. In the post-colonial and contemporary era, the rise of neoliberal urbanism and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) has led to the "greening" of Lagos through flagship projects like Freedom Park. However, this resurgence is marked by spatial commodification, the emergence of gated communities, and the exclusion of low-income populations through gate fees and privatization. By uncovering these historical trajectories, this article argues for a "green de-colonization" of urban policy to foster more equitable, socially sustainable, and research-informed green spaces for the future.