STUDY 07
Three Cities, One Question
"Holding the question constant and letting the cities differ."
PUBLISHEDInfrastructure2025
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Context
A study within the Infrastructure area of Dr. Okafor's wider research on daily mobility and access to opportunity, conducted in Lagos, Abuja, Kano over Mar–Dec 2025.
The Question
QUESTION
"Which infrastructure decisions create barriers to access that don't show up in standard transport statistics?"
Hypothesis
HYPOTHESIS
Some infrastructure decisions — shelter placement, lighting, informal-route recognition — create access barriers invisible to distance- or time-based transport data.
Method
Data
D06D07
Three-City Comparative Sample
4,380 matched journeysInfrastructure Quality Index
212 wards scoredFindings
Infrastructure quality explains gaps in access that distance alone cannot.
STRONG CONFIDENCEDataset
Sample
212 wards scored
Method
Variable
infrastructure quartile vs. reported accessibility
Observation
Wards in the lowest infrastructure-quality quartile reported substantially lower accessibility than higher-quartile wards at comparable distances to opportunity.
What We Know / What We Still Don't Know
WHAT WE KNOW
Infrastructure quality operates as an independent barrier to access, distinct from raw distance.
WHAT WE STILL DON'T KNOW
Which specific infrastructure interventions would close the gap most efficiently, and at what cost.