Sustainable Mobility for Lagos

Even though the middle class in Lagos, Nigeria is growing fast, more than two-thirds of the city’s residents live in slums and cannot even dream about owning a car. By 2060, it is projected that Africans living below the poverty line will be in the minority, approximately 33%. This means that more people who used to live in slums will be able to buy cars in the future.

So my project aim is: How can Nissan cars engage with Lagos slum dwellers (and the new emerging middle class)?

I got my inspiration from the Olusosun landfill slum in Lagos and I especially got inspired by the scavengers who collect materials in the landfill to sell on to traders. Looking at how scavengers make local businesses in the landfill, I came up with the idea of a collaboration between slum dwellers and Nissan’s car manufacturing process. What I am proposing is a recycled material car component manufacturing system, using locally collected recycled materials from slum people to make car components and car interiors.

There are two key points about this concept. First is that the manufacturing sector in Lagos is very small at the moment and I am sure that boosting the manufacturing sector can improve the lives of slum dwellers and poorer people in general. The second is that Olusosun landfill is the biggest landfill site in Africa and there is an abundance of materials that could be used.

I am trying to mix the diverse and fun characteristics of waste materials with Lagos tribal art. It still looks playful and colorful but it also retains traditional pride and cultural identity. I used waste materials such as plastic milk bottles, plastic bags, rubber and electronic cables to make different types of patterns which could be applied to car interior design. I mixed traditional Nigerian patterns into a modern car interior.

With this concept car, Nissan could function as a medium to help bridge the divide between the rich and poor in Lagos, as well as reducing its environmental impact.