The Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), has enjoined the town planning professionals to ensure good understanding of the urban property market dynamics to be able to conduct sustainable development plans and thrive in the profession.
The President of ATOPCON, Mr Hakeem Badejo gave the advice at the 2026 Professional Development Workshop of the association with the them: “Mastering Urban Property Market Dynamics” on Wednesdays in Lagos.
Badejo, who described theme of the workshop as “being very apt”, said in the past, town planner’s role was often viewed through a narrow lens confined to the drawing board, focusing solely on land use allocation, physical layouts of parcels of land, and development control.
He said but today, the Nigerian urban landscape is evolving rapidly at an unprecedented pace, saying that the forces of supply and demand of urban property, infrastructure deficits, speculative bubbles, and shifting demographic trends are no longer abstract economic concepts; they are the realities that determine whether a city thrives or decays.
He said, “the relevance of this theme to our profession is simple: We cannot plan for a city if we do not understand the market that powers it.
“As town planners, we are the architects of urban value. A well-planned city is not just aesthetically pleasing; it is economically resilient. By mastering market dynamics, understanding where capital is flowing, where infrastructure is expanding, and where demand is outstripping supply, we ensure that our plans are not just theoretically sound, but practically viable and economically.
The ATOPCON President explained that by understanding the market dynamics, the town planners would be better positioned to advise their clients appropriately.
According to him, navigating risk and speculation should be paramount, stressing that town planners have a duty to steer their clients away from danger zones and advise them against speculating in areas prone to flooding, areas where zoning is under threat of downgrading, or areas where there is a title crisis that no amount of political influence can resolve.
“We are in the best position to advise our clients on which property to invest in for the best return on investment. While a layman or a real estate agent may look at a cheap plot of land, we look at the Zoning Ordinance. We know that a property zoned for high-density mixed-use development has a fundamentally higher value and ROI potential than a piece of land restricted to low-density agriculture, even if they are side by side.
“Our expertise allows us to look beyond the surface. We can identify the corridors of growth, areas where infrastructure is planned, where zoning is about to be upgraded, and where the highest and best use of land has not yet been realised. That is the value we bring to the table: the ability to translate regulatory knowledge into financial gain for our clients.
“We must have the courage to tell a client “no” on a property, despite its cheap price, is a liability waiting to happen. Protecting our clients from speculative bubbles and environmental hazards is not just good business; it is a fundamental duty of care in our practice.
“As we engage in the sessions today, let us move beyond the traditional mindset. Let us embrace our role as Urban Market Strategists. By mastering property market dynamics, we empower ourselves to create cities that are not only orderly but also prosperous,” Badejo said.
The ATOPCON President, however, decried the lack of social housing in the country, which he said was the root cause of accomodation/ housing challenges in Nigeria.
According to him, the country for decades still lack the availability of social housing for the masses is largely due to the fact that the “political will” is lacking.
He noted that, for Nigeria to have the social housing, the “sincerity of purpose and political will” must be there.
Speaking, Dr Samson Agbato, a Senior Partner, Samson Agbato Consulting, stated that understanding the property market dynamics was key to excelling in town planning practice.
Represented by Mr Samson Aboderin, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Agbato presented a paper with the topic: “Overview of the Urban Property Market”.
He urged town planners to look inward to harness the potential of the urban market, saying that urban market/centres attract investments and investors, which leads to increased cash flow.
According to him, population density and infrastructure drives urban market, emphasising the need for proper planning and development of both the urban centres and the rural areas.
He noted that the rural areas needed to be well planned and developed to decongest the urban centres and reduce the pressure of overstretching the urban facilities due to over population.
Identifying location, accessibility and development as some of the determinants of land value, Agbato attributed plan failure to lack of human factors integration.
“We have a lot of plan failures today because we fail to integrate the human and environmental factors into the planning process.
“Physical planning is supposed not be on the dask analysis. To make an effective plan, you have to study the people and the neighborhood, to know their social- economic characteristics, know their behavioral pattern, know how they live and how they socialize, then incorporate all those things into the physical plan. This is because if you don’t do that, the plan will fail naturally. But when physical plan takes into recognizance the human and evrionmental factors, the plan will work seamlessly.
“So, town planners should be able to identify and understand what urban property market connotes, in order to incorporate that into their planning reviews to avert planning failures.
“But where physical planning is conscious of the dynamics of the market and incorporate such into planning, of course it will conform with the reality in the society and it will increase the resilience of physical planning to support our environment.
“Nigeria’s urban property market is one of the most dynamic, complex, and consequential in Africa. Driven by a demographic growth engine that is adding millions of urban residents annually, shaped by a legal framework rooted in a 1978 military decree, structured across formal and informal market channels, and increasingly influenced by technology, global investment, and infrastructure mega-projects, it demands sophisticated, interdisciplinary engagement from professional planners,” he said.
The event featured inauguration of the member firms, who were admonished to uphold the integrity of ATOPCON and make it to shine brighter.
Goodwill messages were delivered by friends and supporters of the association including the National President of NITP, Dr Ogbonna Chime, who urged town planners to continually update themselves with new developments and technologies of the profession to remain relevant.
Congratulating the new member firms, Chime said, “We must continue to learn, unlearn and relearn as there is no end to education. We must continue to update ourselves about current activities around us or those that we can foresee or as may be impacted by modern technology. It is for our self-development. It is for the betterment and improvement of our profession and ultimately, our physical environment will be better for it.
