Abstract
Public spaces in the human society predate the built environment. Settlements expanding unto open spaces necessitate statutory control to ensure orderly development and mutual existence of various land uses. In developing countries like Nigeria, public spaces are subjected to encroachment and depletion. These result from rapid urbanization, population increase and space demand for human activities. Extant development control regulations seem ineffective in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital. Illegal development into public spaces is alarming, subtracting vital greenery and environmental quality from the city. This paper assesses the state of the environment to determine the extent of encroachment, and examines causal factors. Methods includes the review of existing planning laws pertaining to the establishment and maintenance of setbacks, open spaces and parks; and other related issues from literature sources. Questionnaire administration, interviews, focus group discussions and direct observation in selected city districts generated primary data. Findings reveal deplorable state of the environment occasioned by audacious encroachment of public spaces mainly by informal commercial activities. Ignorance of good quality environment, lack of effective governmental control, and people's desire for economic benefits are among factors responsible for these public spaces disruption. The research establishes that the city is devoid of greenery, while aesthetics, environmental quality, mobility, health, and livability are adversely affected. It is recommended that the State Government and municipal authority should strictly enforce extant statutory development control laws to reclaim lost socio-cultural spaces and revitalize urban green places. Functional 'trading/market' places should be incorporated into some of these spaces as development solution for informal sector economic activities, and thereby cater for the needs of itinerant traders and the urban populace. These measures, guided by a well-structured green city master plan, guarantee the return of the greens and biodiversity into the cityscape, and also provide avenues for making future sense of a great place in Ado-Ekiti, the fledging capital city of Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Highlights
Public spaces are integral components of human settlements from time immemorial
The incessant encroachment on public open spaces, squares, parks, setbacks and carriageways has led to the disappearance of greenery, which has eroded the quality of urban design and aesthetics in the capital city
With the people wholeheartedly supporting effective reversal of the culture of contravention and encroachment, being the established root cause of disorderliness and environmental degradation; and embracing the retrofitting of lost spaces, the ugly state of the city will be replaced with people-friendly environment that guarantees Ado-Ekiti as a future great city
Summary
Public spaces are integral components of human settlements from time immemorial. According to Fadamiro (2002), these include street space, park system, and the entire larger space in which the city exists. It is deemed necessary to assess the existing state of the urban environment to determine the extent of encroachment on public open spaces, and the level of compliance with statutory provisions on development control in the city This is intended to make a case for strict compliance with extant enactments, and reclaim disrupted public spaces for the reestablishment of green areas befitting of a state capital. These measures will revive verdant and pleasurable places that are guaranteed to improve environmental quality, recreational potentialities, and livability, to reinvent Ado-Ekiti as world class Nigerian city of the future
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