I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is a Sunday Story from Up First.
Lagos, Nigeria, is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities.
It 's currently home to nearly 20 million people,
and by the end of the century, it 's projected to be the most populous city in the world, with 88 million residents.
Lagos is already considered one of the most vibrant economic hubs in Africa.
It has multi-million dollar tech firms, one of the world's biggest film industries,
Nollywood, and a thriving music scene centered on Afrobeat.
To support the influx of industries and people, new infrastructure and housing projects are being built at a rapid pace.
Welcome to Echo Atlantic, the future of African real estate.
The Nigerian government is working closely with developers,
hoping to turn Lagos into a gleaming global destination, much like Dubai.
We believe that Echo Atlantic is more than just a city.
It's an opportunity to dream, venture and prosper in a world-class environment.
But many of these developments are not targeted at housing the residents who need it the most.
There 's an explosion of luxury high-rises and hubs for the wealthy,
especially along the waterfront, fueling a push to reclaim land on the coastal lagoons and bays.
The problem is, much of this land is already home to some of the city's most vulnerable people.
And in many cases, it's being violently taken from them.
When we come back, the brutal human cost of development in an African megacity.
Stay with us.