Rethinking Property Development through the Sustainability Lens: The Lagos State Case

This qualitative case study examines how sustainable property development can be operationalised in Lagos State, Nigeria, by balancing economic viability, social inclusion, and environmental stewardship across the asset life cycle. Using a desk-based review, the study synthesises recent Lagos climate and planning materials, national environmental assessment regulations, peer reviewed built environment scholarship, and credible policy journalism. Documents were appraised for quality, coded thematically with a triple bottom line lens, and triangulated to identify recurrent opportunities, barriers, and governance mechanisms. Findings show strong policy ambition but uneven delivery across permitting and post approval monitoring. Climate risk to sites and assets is structural rather than episodic, driven by shoreline mobility, pluvial flooding, and heat. Passive design and materials optimisation emerge as the most reliable, context fit pathway to reduce cooling demand, enhance comfort, and lower lifetime costs. Social safeguards, including fair process, participation, and livelihood restoration, are decisive for legitimacy where redevelopment and coastal change create displacement risks. Environmental quality pressures from air pollution and waste further connect property practice to citywide health outcomes. Capability, finance, and accountability remain the hinge for progress. The paper proposes concise actions to translate ambition into verifiable performance, and indicates priorities for future primary research on post occupancy outcomes, user comfort, and resettlement trajectories