Lagos is in a transportation crisis. A city of close to 15 million persons, Lagos is larger than London, but without a train system corresponding to the London Tube. A combination of bad roads, too many cars and trucks, and frequent accidents means that the city is often gridlocked. Everyone who can afford a car buys one, since what passes for public transportation is largely inhospitable — a network of tens of thousands of mini-buses known locally as danfos. In the last few years the government has introduced a bus system that takes advantage of dedicated lanes, but its capacity is a far cry from what is needed. In any case it still has to depend on the overburdened road network. The motorcycle taxis (okadas) that once dominated and defined the metropolis, providing an opportunity for time-challenged travellers to weave through traffic jams, have recently come under the government's hammer. Without radical and intelligent solutions the situation is bound to worsen, as Lagos is Africa's fastest growing city, and the World Bank estimates that there will be more than 20 million people in it by 2020. What is clear is that Lagos cannot hope to make a dent on its traffic situation without forms of mass transportation that can convey large numbers of people outside of the road network. The solutions will lie on land — rail lines — and in the water. Read more.

In marginalized Lagos communities like Ajegunle and Oshodi, the BornTroWay Creative Arts Project is empowering and spotlighting youth art creativity. The project started in Ajegunle, considered one of Lagos' harshest slum settlements — but also a thriving place where some of the country's premier athletes and performers have grown up. For its youth participants, BornTroWay is making a difference that goes far beyond teaching them to dance, to act, to write a song or rap. Read and discuss.

Young girls in low-income, informal settlements such as Iwaya, a waterfront settlement in Lagos, must grow up fast: they are often the informal solution for their families as they struggle with the daily issues of income and infrastructure access. Such responsibilities often force these girls to forego their education to tend to the immediate needs of their households — and without an education, they remain at a distinct disadvantage for the rest of their lives. Action Health Incorporated develops educational solutions that are accessible for out-of-school adolescent girls — starting in Iwaya — to help stem this cycle of poverty. Read and discuss.