URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING REVIEW

Spatial Planning and Land Administration Issues in the Lagos Megacity

2023-10-26T10:52:39+00:00

The four functions of land administration are intricately linked due to the motive for land holding, especially with regard to the physical uses of land and properties as well as the socio-economic considerations. However, these roles currently lack effective coordination. This lack of coordination affects the value of land. Conversely, land values are also shaped by regulations for land-use planning, which are often set by zoning plans. Over the years, connections between different land administration functions have been challenged by the institutional arrangement. There is a need for parcel-based information to enhance the institutional role of spatial arrangement of settlements framed by land-use regulation within the context of land administration systems. This paper examines the broad overview of the concept of land administration and its impact on spatial planning in the Lagos Megacity. This is structured to review existing knowledge by exploring some of the dominant requirements of integrating spatial planning and land administration while focusing on the approaches to addressing the challenges.

Development Control as a Tool for Urban Sustainability in South-Western Nigeria

2023-10-26T10:52:39+00:00

This paper examines the role of development control as a tool in ensuring urban sustainability in Southwestern Nigeria. The six states in the region were grouped into three (Lagos/Ogun, Osun/Oyo and Ondo/Ekiti). A state was randomly selected from each group. The study focused on the capital cities of three chosen states (Ogun, Osun and Ekiti). Data for the study were obtained from the professionals in the twenty planning agencies operating in Abeokuta (9), Osogbo (5), and Ado-Ekiti (6), respectively. Two professionals were selected from each agency for the interview. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, mean and percentages. In addition, content analysis was used to analyse the legislative tools for controlling physical development. The study found that development control provides appropriate mechanisms for orderliness and sustainable city development. It also established that National Physical Development Plan is a veritable tool for integrating the physical and spatial with the economic and social issues of national development planning. Despite the important role of development control in making cities sustainably functional, its implementation in the southwestern region of Nigeria is confronted with some challenges, which include: inadequate tools and equipment (7.7%), poor funding (7.4%), lack of master plan (6.9%), political interference (6.7%) and lack of data and information (6.6%). In order to achieve urban sustainability, the study, therefore, recommends that development plans should be prepared to channel the growth and development of cities. Also, appropriate development control mechanisms should be put in place and properly implemented not only in the southwestern region but also in all the cities in Nigeria. The planning agencies in charge of development control must properly enforce development control to ensure adequate compliance and guarantee urban sustainability.

Impact of Urbanisation on Residents’ Quality of Life in Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria

2023-10-26T10:52:39+00:00

The study investigates the factors and the challenges posed by urbanisation on the quality of life of residents of Lokoja, Kogi State. As cities grow and expand, economic growth and development are expected to progress and drive social transformation and improvement of urban areas and their greater rural hinterland. The situation in developing countries is not always the case, as urbanisation has brought about an increased and persistent housing problem, traffic congestion, and water and sanitary problem. The study employed both primary and secondary sources. The population of Lokoja was projected to be 203,456, using a growth rate of 3.05%. The required sample size of 400 at a precision level of ±7% was adopted from Glenn 1992 table. The 400 questionnaires were administered to the residents that covered the five districts of Lokoja. The questionnaire sought to obtain information on the residents' socio-economic characteristics, factors and effects of urbanisation on the residents' quality of life. A five-point Likert Scale was used to measure the residents’ perceptions of urbanisation characteristics. In contrast, Multiple Linear Regression was used to establish the effects of population increases on their associated urbanisation problems. The findings revealed that four factors (natural increase in population, migration, presence of social amenities and employment opportunities contributed to the rapid expansion of urbanisation in Lokoja. The regression analysis shows that the calculated F value of 24.601 is far greater than the table value (2.31). This indicates that the predictors significantly affect the level of stress and livability of residents of Lokoja. The research was concluded with a few recommendations, such as addressing the rural-urban migration by introducing policies that favour rural areas, provision and upgrading existing urban infrastructure, ensuring environmental sustainability, and enlightenment programmes for population control.

A Review of Emerging Issues on Urban Land Management Policy in Nigeria

2023-10-26T10:52:39+00:00

Urban expansion has created a structural and ecological modification of the urban fabric, thus leading to complex interactions between land change and land cover. Land is essential for peace and human survival. However, various challenges must be addressed to ensure effective land management in urban areas. Several policies have been formulated to mitigate the effects of unplanned urban settlements in order to boost economic activities. This paper reviewed all the land-related policies in the past three decades and extricated the inherent environmental, agricultural, and economic implications of the policies in cities of Nigeria. Urban land management was conceptualised, while the systemic review was adopted as a methodology. Remarkably, the study revealed that: there are challenges to the documentation of rights to property on land-related disputes; unauthorised land development and inadequate access to developable land for housing led to slum formation and land use conflict; frequent flooding contributed to environmental degradation while rising land insecurity is limiting the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDG 1.3, 2.3, 5.6, and 10). The paper concluded that urban land management policies could not be effective without the comprehensive and interactive processes involving policy makers, urban planners, real estate developers, farmers; land-holding families; land speculators, decision-makers, and researchers while adaptation of modern technologies in land management, sustainable land use control policies on documentation of property rights, access to developable land for housing and open-grazing, mitigation policies on carbon emissions, physical environment, water and air quality were recommended.

Livelihood Correlate of Urban Agriculture in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

2023-10-26T10:52:39+00:00

Urban agriculture (UA) is a support mechanism for achieving the current seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are geared towards minimising unemployment and food insecurity and creating a greener city. Town planners and policymakers should not be swayed by the merits of urban agriculture but rather have an in-depth comprehension of UA as a sub-unit of the urban system, especially with regard to waste-handling techniques. This paper examines the livelihood correlate of UA in the study area. A survey research design was employed in this research. Using the accidental sampling technique, 251 urban farmers were surveyed from 22 selected urban farms. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics in the form of frequency Tables and Charts. A 5-point Likert scale was equally involved in analysing UA's contribution to livelihood in the study area. Data from the 251 urban farmers revealed that UA had a significant contribution to the livelihood of Ogbomoso through employment, with the highest positive index value of 0.51. At the same time, an increase in GDP and revenue shows an insignificant contribution with a negative index value of – 1.24. It was also discovered that 69.7% of the sampled urban farmers depended on waste material, whereas 25.9% used industrial waste as animal feed in UA practice. Therefore, this paper concludes that due to the livelihood contribution relating to employment opportunities, food security, and promotion of urban sustainability, town planners and decision-makers need to integrate UA into the urban setting with appropriate policies.

Influence of Macroeconomic Variables on Construction Material Prices in Lagos State: An Auto-Regressive Distributed Lagos Approach

2023-10-26T10:52:39+00:00

In Nigeria, many building projects have been abandoned because of an increase in the price of the materials that are involved, due to the unstable macroeconomic variables prevailing in the country. The aim of this study is to develop an auto-regressive distributed lag model so as to investigate the effect of some selected macroeconomic variables on the price of some selected building materials in Lagos State, and also to come up with some policy statements that would assist every stakeholder in the construction industry in Lagos State. The research methodology adopted for this study was an ex-post facto survey research design because it was based on secondary data. Data used for the study were quarterly data for a period of twelve years ranging from 2008 to 2019, obtained from published sources. The data for the price of building materials were obtained from the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Quarterly Journal, and Guardian Newspaper of Nigeria; while the data on the macroeconomic variables, which are inflation rate, interest rate, and exchange rate, were extracted from the Annual Reports and statistical bulletins of both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria. The data collected were processed using E-view, an econometric statistical software package; the suitability of the package is enhanced by the interactive nature of the programme, which makes it user-friendly and time efficient. The statistical tools used for the study were the ordinary least square method, correlation, and auto-regressive distributed lag model. The result showed that interest rate, inflation rate, and exchange rate have a positive effect on the building materials prices. The study recommended a reduction in import duties, exchange rate reduction, and reduction in interest rate on bank loans, while the government should promulgate policies that will stabilize the macroeconomic variables in the economy.

Assessing Households’ Sanitation and Sewage Management Practices in Kaduna Metropolis, Kaduna State Nigeria

2023-10-26T10:52:39+00:00

This study assessed Households’ Sanitation and Sewage Management Practices in Kaduna Metropolis. Published and unpublished literature on Domestic sewage, Sanitation Chain, and World Health Organisation (WHO) and Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) reports were reviewed to form the conceptual framework of the study. A sample size of 1,874 houses were drawn from a sample frame of 88,621 houses representing the city core, North, South, East, and western sectors of the metropolis. The systematic Sampling Technique was used to collect primary data from households using a questionnaire and filling of checklist. Cross Tabulations were used to analyze data, while, pictures expressed additional facts and discussion of results in prose. The variables assessed were derived from the WHO, UNICEF, and JMP 2018 SDG monitoring template for Water Sanitation and Hygiene. The study ascertained that; most (52.9%) households use Water Closet. Majority (61.2%) do not share toilets, yet, not open defecation free. Toilets (81.1%) are built with cement blocks, 89.4% have roofs, 84.5% have lockable doors, 72.5% of pit latrines have no covers, 53.8% use water and soap as hand washing and cleansing material, containments are 72.2% offset link to toilets, with most (40.7%) horizontal buffer of < 15mto water source. Majority (89%) of households use motorised methods to empty filled pits. Recommendations such as public education and enlightenment on appropriate practice, establishment of an abatement committee to combat emerging Open defecation, biogas plants for alternative energy, and securing areas that are hot spots to Open Defecation (OD) forms were suggested.

Land Use Dynamics of Urban Change in the Lagos-Ogun Urban Fringe, Southwest Nigeria

2023-10-26T10:52:39+00:00

Conversion of various land use types to urban landwhich leads to urban expansion has been very rapid globally in the last few decades. Lagos can be described as one of the cities mostly affected by extensive urban expansion in Nigeria. Urban sprawl in Lagos States is witnessed more prominently in the towns located around the Lagos-Ogun boundary. Interestingly, previous studies of urban land use change in the region either concentrated on Lagos State or Ogun State with no particular attention to the development at the Lagos-Ogun urban fringe. A study of Land use change along Lagos-Ogun boundary will reveal the dynamics of urban land use which can assist to identify urban planning solutions for a resilient and sustainable urban development. This study therefore investigates land use dynamics of urban change in the local government areas along Lagos-Ogun boundary at five epochs (1984, 2001, 2013, 2018 and 2020). The maximum likelihood algorithm was adopted in processing acquired Lands at images of the study area to six classes of dense urban, moderate urban, vegetation mangrove, water-body and wetland. Image processing was done using ENVI software while processed images were imported to ArcGIS for analysis. Total and annual change in land use types were determined. The six land use classes were later regrouped into three from where further analysis of land use change were carried out. Results showed that annual rate of urban change between 1984 and 2020 as well as 2018 and 2020 were 63.28 km² and 317.99 km² respectively much higher than rate of change in Lagos. Results also showed that urban land use increase by 2278.02 km² between 1984 and 2020. It is recommended that a uniform urban planning policy and decentralized planning authorities can assist in ensuring a resilient and sustainable urban development in the area.