The Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Lagos State Chapter, has called on government to create city limits in urban areas of the country to reduce population stress on infrastructure and housing facilities of one city on another.

President of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Mr. Olatunji Bolu, who made the call at an Architects forum in Lagos, also urged government to embark on mass housing and infrastructure development in cities across the country.

According to him, there should be limits as to the extent a city can grow, pointing out that hardly would anybody be able to differentiate between the borders of Lagos and Ogun States on the Lagos-Ibadan and Lagos-Abeokuta express ways because of lack of limits of growth.

Bolu argued that Lagos as a city should have limits in the growth of its districts, pointing out that there should be difference between Surulere and Yaba districts through demarcation by buffer zone so that infrastructure of one district is not overstretched by another because of increased population. Creation of city limits, he said, would give room for liveable city by planning for infrastructure need of every city and district in Nigeria without necessarily putting pressure on the infrastructure of others.

“City should have limits; if we don’t have this, there will be pressure on infrastructure of one city. Lagos must embark on the process so that there won’t be pressure on the city. If there is proper planning, Ibafo will not be linked to Lagos; there will be buffer zone to remove pressure from the city. Therefore, there is need for limit. This concept was adopted in Cairo,” he said.

The NIA president commended President Jonathan for his intervention in the high cost of cement enjoining him to follow it to a logical conclusion.

He disclosed that the institute had instituted skill acquisition programme to train and retrain the workforce in the built environment, adding that NIA is in the process of finalising a programme to allow architects research into the nation’s abundance natural materials for building.