Exploration of Housing Adequacy for City Resilience Using Principal Component Analysis

Abstract

Public housing schemes in developing countries like Nigeria have been assessed from different perspectives. In spite of this, housing development strategies are yet to efficiently meet the needs of contemporary urban society, especially those needs associated with rapid influx of human population in countries of the Global South. Rapid population growth impacts on the social, economic and environmental fabrics of the community. In the same vein, housing for resilient city is said to offer characteristics that would enable housing to relate efficiently with the socioeconomic, physical and environmental demands of the city. However, studies on assessment of housing for city resilience are rare. This study aimed to investigate the environmental characteristics of mass housing schemes that will enhance the adequacy of residential neighbourhoods to efficiently absorb the adverse impacts of rapid urban population growth and promote city resilience. A cross sectional survey of 345 residents in seven selected public housing estates in Abuja, Nigeria was carried out using a structured questionnaire designed from the findings of the review of literature. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis. The results revealed that the participants felt that housing units' features were generally adequate, while the neighbourhood environmental features were grossly inadequate for city resilience. The four main dimensions of housing adequacy evaluation were the sizes of service provision, plots for houses, availability of utilities, neighbourhood and maintenance facilities; provision of spaces for study room, guest room, laundry and home-based enterprise in dwelling units; the size of housing units and interior spaces; and the provision of car parks, security and educational facilities in the housing estates. The study highlights the specific areas of priority attention in public housing provision in order to ensure that housing developments promote cities resilient to rapid population growth.