Urban form of settlements on water: a morphometric comparison between Makoko and Venice

Recent studies highlight morphological similarities between centrally located informal settlements and historical cities, suggesting that, despite infrastructural deficiencies, the former possess valuable urban form features, e.g., human-scale design, compactness, and walkability, that are also characteristics of the latter. This research challenges the negative connotations often associated with informal settlements, advancing advocacy for the prevention of evictions and the support of legalisation. In line with these works, we compare the urban form of two aquatic settlements: Makoko, an informal settlement in Lagos, Nigeria, and the Italian city of Venice. Both are analyzed through statistical and visual comparisons of nine metrics of urban form. Since Venice is historical and Makoko was only recently established, the most consolidated part of the latter is also included in the analysis. The outcomes show similarities between Makoko and Venice in terms of building elongation, alignment to streets/canals, diversity of building footprints, and coverage area ratio. Importantly, these similarities are more pronounced in the most consolidated part of Makoko, suggesting that if the settlement continues to develop along its current patterns of change, the similarities to Venice will likely increase. Accordingly, policymakers should reconsider the current eviction approach and facilitate the adaptive development of the settlement.