Spatial determinants of urban land use change in Lagos, Nigeria

The objective of this research was to identify the factors responsible for residential and industrial/commercial land development in Lagos between 1984 and 2000. Land use changes were mapped using satellite images, while binary logistic regression was used to model the probability of observing urban development as a function of spatially explicit independent variables. Accessibility, spatial interaction effects and policy variables were the major determinants of land use change. Variables that influenced residential development were not necessarily those responsible for the expansion of industrial/commercial land areas. The evidence of frontier residential development calls for land tenure and housing development reforms, and land use controls to minimize the environmental consequences of unplanned urban expansion.