UrbanBetter, an organisation working to ensure equitable access to health-enabling, climate-resilient urban environments, has launched a project seeking to address health risks associated with heat exposure in Lagos State.
The project has identified 11 transport corridors in Lagos State that are prone to heat exposure for the first phase of its Hotsteppers mobility mapping project.
According to the Hotsteppers Project Communications Lead, Abimbola Badejo, the Hotsteppers (Active Lives in Hot Spots) is a three-year climate and health research project that seeks to understand and address the health risks associated with heat exposure among people who walk, cycle, and use public transport in Lagos.
Badejo noted that “the Hotsteppers project will build on existing transport, climate resilience, and urban development initiatives across Lagos rather than duplicate previous efforts.
“One of the project’s core aims is to generate evidence to support healthier, cooler, and more climate-resilient transport systems while elevating heat as a priority in urban planning and public health.”
Speaking about the importance of the mapping, Badejo shared that, “a satellite image may show a bus stop, but it may not reveal that hundreds of passengers queue several metres away because the designated waiting area lacks shade. Traffic counts can estimate vehicle movement, but they cannot easily measure the physical strain of walking long distances under intense heat after leaving a crowded bus terminal.
“Community-generated information can help fill some of these gaps because residents often possess detailed knowledge about informal transport patterns that are invisible in official datasets,” she added.
The 11 priority geographies selected include the Lekki-Epe/Green Line corridor, Idimu–Ikotun–Egbeda/Alimosho QBC corridor, Surulere BRT Barracks, Doyin/Odunade Corridor, Yaba–WAEC–Fadeyi Corridor, Ojota / New Garage axis, Berger/Grammar School Axis, Mile 2, Ikorodu Garage/Ikorodu Axis, Oshodi Interchange, and the Enu Owa/Oroyinyin/Marina-CMS axis.
These sites, according to Badejo, were selected because they combine high pedestrian activity, major transport interchanges, significant heat exposure, and opportunities for future heat-resilient interventions.
She added that “these locations will also serve as the foundation for understanding how heat affects everyday mobility and where future interventions can deliver the greatest impact.”
During the participatory mapping phase slated for September 2026, researchers, referred to as Citizen Scientists (Cityzens), will work alongside communities to document walking and cycling routes, public transport connections, heat hotspots, waiting areas and transport hubs, shade availability, public spaces, daily movement patterns, and community experiences of heat.
The Hotsteppers project is funded by the Wellcome Trust, a charitable foundation with a vision of a healthier future for everyone, and partners with the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Ruban Office, the University of Cambridge Institute of Metabolic Science, Lagos Urban Development Initiative (LUDI), and the University of Lagos Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development.
