Makoko matters because it is already doing what many future cities claim they want: living with water, not against it. While we dream of new frontiers on water, in air, or even in space, Makoko is a real-world testing ground for settlement systems that can adapt to unpredictable environmental change with minimal harm to the ecosystem. This research formed part of our entry to the Seoul Biennale 2021.

Makoko is a culturally strong amphibious community with deep knowledge in fishing, boat building, and crafts, supported by a skilled local workforce. Yet it remains vulnerable, shaped by neglect, environmental pressures, and uncertain government action. Any attempt to develop Makoko has multi-layered value for Lagos: an integrated waterfront that supports livelihoods, strengthens culture, and offers an adaptive response to sea-level rise and shrinking land.

Demolition and forced relocation risk erasing centuries of relationship between land and water, along with an everyday resilience that planned communities often fail to achieve. Our proposal argues for support across agencies, stakeholders, and government, with the community at the centre.

We developed a database and framework of interventions grounded in Lagos and Nigerian policy, alongside earlier projects and proposals for Makoko. Solutions are mapped across effort, budget, timeline, scale, and stakeholders, then assessed by community impact. The goal is not a single masterplan, but a flexible toolkit that can be combined and adjusted as needs and conditions change.