As a direct consequence of ... conflicts, residents of the most troubled cities naturally enact a new set of urban rules within them, guidelines often dictated by fear, angst, and mutual distrust. These conflicts ultimately leave cities fragmented and divided along parochial lines of identities, with each group restricting social interactions exclusively to its immediate community. This social delineation and accompanying segregation deepens the societal gaps between the different communities, further perpetuating conflict. These new forms of spatial realignments make engagement between feuding groups less likely; even in fleeting moments of contact, each views the other with distrust.

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In September 2001, clashes broke out in Jos between Christian and Muslim residents in a low-income neighborhood called Congo-Russia; within a few hours, these skirmishes had escalated into a violent conflict and quickly spread to other neighborhoods across the city. Before long, the entire city was embroiled in fierce riots. For the few days that the melee lasted, homes, businesses, mosques, churches, and cars went up in flames. More than a thousand people were reported killed. I was trapped in the university hostel, along with hundreds of other students, for the duration of the conflict, surviving on nothing but maize prematurely harvested from the surrounding cornfields. It was a frightening experience, the memory of which is still difficult to relive.

The conflict has permanently altered the psychogeography of the city, as residents navigate Jos using peculiar routes, depending on which group they belong to. During my last trip, my host deftly steered us through the “safe” routes, pointing out routes to take, and those to avoid, as we snaked through the maze-like city. 

That conflict and the series of skirmishes that followed over the years left the city severely fragmented and divided along religious lines, as each group sought refuge among kith and kin.