Transport issues in developed and developing cities - Essay Example

This paper seeks to compare transport situation in Lagos city in Nigeria and the situation in New York in the United States and that of London in the United Kingdom since the year 1995. It addresses the similarity and differences that exists between the transport situation in Lagos being a city from a lesser developed nation and the situation as portrayed by New York and London being cities from the developed nations of the world. Further analysis is presented herein in relation the extent to which logos city might benefit from the experiences of the cities from developed nations that is New York and London.

Over the years since 1995 Lagos is city characterized by complexity with a wide range of economic activities taking place. It is the largest urban centre in Nigeria. The population of Lagos is approximated to be roughly 17.8 million (Oni 2004, p.35). In most cases when a city is large and as continues to acquire growth and development it becomes more and more complex having increased potential for diverse disruptions especially in relation to the transport network hence the need for the managed of the complexity in an effective manner.

In addressing the similarities and differences in transportation in the cities mentioned it is quite crucial to note that the productivity of urban centres is highly dependable on the effectiveness and efficiency of the centre’s system of transportation to facilitate movement of labor, that of consumers as well as freight from one destination to another (National Transport Policy for Nigeria 2003, p.54). In addition important terminals of transportation for instance airports, rail yards and ports that are located within urban cities are known to be contributing factors leading to transportation problems.

There are quite a wide range of similarities that exist between the situation of transport in Lagos and that of New York and London since 1995. Lagos being of the largest cities in the world has been characterized by a rapid rate of population increase annually. This is due to the fact that a manufacturing sector is located in Lagos and which is termed as the largest in the entire country offers employments to over 45 percent of the country’s skilled manpower (Oni 2004, p.27). The big populace in the city therefore presents transportation requirements for certain reasons the nation is not able to satisfy.

Similarly the cities of New York and London are demonstrated to experience the same situation. In regard to New York City, it is has the biggest population in America. People living in new York as well as in its outskirts engage in a lot of economic activities thus having a major impact on the aspects of finance, commerce, fashion, art, media, education, technology as well as entertainment. In London the situation is not that different as portrayed in New York. The population in London is quite large forcing United Kingdom to actually realize that the issue with increasing urban population is an inevitable one and need to be addressed.

Urban mobility requirements in New York and London are therefore critical aspects considered by the states during the formulation of transportation policies including how transportation is to be managed to meet the needs of the large population. The road network in the city of Lagos is in a very poor condition. As already identified transportation systems within any given urban are linked to