AMARA OKAFOR
FOLLOW THE QUESTION.
DR. AMARA OKAFOR — RESEARCHER · DATA SCIENTIST · LECTURER

THE WORK BEHIND
THE QUESTION.

I study how movement, infrastructure and data shape access to opportunity in fast-growing cities.

THE QUESTION CENTRAL METHOD DATA STUDIES FINDINGS
THE QUESTION

How does daily mobility shape access to opportunity in fast-growing cities?

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First Asked
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CURRENT STUDY 12

The Last Mile Is Not the Same for Everyone

"A study of how distance, transport cost, waiting time and infrastructure quality combine to shape access to work and education."

FIELD ANALYSIS
OPEN STUDY
Location

Lagos, Abuja

Period

2026 (ongoing)

Research Area

Urban Mobility

RESEARCH TIMELINE

Six years, one question, many directions.

2021

The central question is first asked, in early fieldwork on Lagos commuting patterns.

2022

First observational study — Measuring the Invisible Journey — begins, testing whether travel time alone explains accessibility.

2023

The mobility survey and Waiting as Infrastructure study launch, alongside the Reading the Route methods paper.

2024

The spatial dataset expands to Abuja and Kano; Mapping Opportunity tests mobility data against income data.

2025

A three-city comparison isolates infrastructure's role in access, and The Cost of Waiting separates wait length from wait uncertainty.

2026

Current infrastructure-access study — The Last Mile Is Not the Same for Everyone — is in field analysis.

FINDING 04

"Travel time alone does not explain perceived accessibility."

Distance, time and cost are the usual measures of a journey. Uncertainty — not knowing when a wait will end — turns out to weigh more heavily than any of them.

READ THE STUDY
Distance
52/100
Time
61/100
Cost
47/100
Uncertainty
78/100

Each factor's weight in predicting perceived accessibility — illustrative research record.

THE RESEARCH MAP

One question.
Many directions.

Follow the question from its first appearance to the studies, datasets, findings and new questions it produced.

OPEN RESEARCH MAP

HAVE A QUESTION WORTH FOLLOWING?

Research grows through conversation, disagreement, evidence and collaboration.

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