Perception of the Residential Environmental Quality of Yenagoa Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Residential environmental quality (REQ) affects human health and quality of life (QoL). Therefore, this study as sessed residents’ perception of the REQ of the Yenagoa metropolis. Data for the study were sourced from the 400 administered questionnaires, which required respondents to rate their REQ based on seven selected indicators (air quality, drinking water quality, housing location, sanitation, waste management, housing accessibility and noise pollution). The respondents were sampled using the multistage sampling technique. The data were analyzed using frequency, percent age, t-test, ANOVA and REQ model. The findings show that the overall calculated REQ of Yenagoa was classified as “good quality". The best-rated indicator was drinking water quality, while the least-rated was noise pollution. Ratings based on respondents' sex, income and educational status recorded similar results. Also, the respondents' perception of the REQ across the four zones was similar as the calculated ratings of all the zones fell under the "good quality" classification. Furthermore, the hypotheses tested revealed that there were no significant differences in the perception of the REQ by sex and income status, while significant variation exists by education status. Despite the general "good quality" rating, there is still room for improvement, especially in the areas of noise pollution, sanitation and housing location, which received relatively low ratings.