Construction stakeholders’ perception on sustainable housing development in Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

The concept of sustainable development (SD) has been widely discussed and has gained theoretical importance over the years. Housing is an integral part of human development and as an important part of the built environment; it is therefore an important aspect of SD. However, it appears that the concept of SD in housing is misunderstood and neglected in practice, especially in developing countries, of which Nigeria is not exempt. Therefore, the study examined the perceptions of stakeholders in the construction industry on sustainable housing development (SHD) in Anambra State, Nigeria. The study was based on a survey using a questionnaire. A total of 372 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents out of which 283 were returned and found suitable for the study. The data collected was analyzed using the simple percentage and relative importance index. Hypothesis testing was done using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The study revealed that more than 90% of the respondents were aware of the concept of SD and SHD. However, the result of the hypothesis test shows that there is a significant difference between the responses of the project participants in terms of awareness and perception of the concept of SHD. This is because the concept is perceived as subjective, normative, and ambiguous and therefore neglected. It is therefore recommended that more education (in the form of sensitization, training, retraining and information) about SHD should be done by all stakeholders. This would help to improve existing knowledge about SHD in the implementation of housing projects.