Abstract
The current spate of building collapse in Nigeria has continued to attract research efforts to unravel the causes and possible remedies. Although cases of building collapse in Nigeria has been associated with several factors, those factors associated with building plan approval process have not adequately investigated, especially in a rapidly expanding colonial city of Enugu. The study investigated the role of local town planning authorities in the increasing cases of collapsed buildings in Nigeria using Enugu as a case study. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to the three Chief Town Planners in the three planning approval offices and oral interviews randomly selected 30 developers in ongoing construction projects within Enugu metropolis were conducted. Using content analysis and descriptive statistics the data collected were analyzed. It was observed that due to poor staffing and lack of engagement of building professionals, the planning approval authorities were not effective in scrutinizing, vetting and evaluating building drawings submitted for approval as well as in supervising and monitoring the level of compliance of buildings under construction with the operational building codes and bye-laws in the study area. The study concludes that these lapses in the roles of local building approval authorities can contribute to the increasing cases of collapsed buildings in Enugu Metropolis. It recommends that government should take proactive steps by engaging the right number of building professionals in her planning approval offices and ensuring strict enforcement of the existing physical development legislation and punishment of offenders.
Highlights
In spite of the revolution in architectural design and building construction in the 21st century, which was brought about by the advancement in structural engineering, there are still incidences of building failure around the globe and in countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Physical planning activities in Nigeria is regulated by the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Decree (NURP) No 88 of 1992, and are monitored by government agencies at the three tier of government, the findings of the current study presented here may not be different from what are obtainable in many towns and cities in Nigeria because the Town Planning Authorities in Nigeria have the same structure and modus operandi
In line with the aim of this research which is to investigate the role town planning and approval authorities play in building collapse, the conclusion from the result of the study shows that the weakest links in the building chain and construction industry leading to the cause of incessant building collapse are
Summary
In spite of the revolution in architectural design and building construction in the 21st century, which was brought about by the advancement in structural engineering, there are still incidences of building failure around the globe and in countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence in the literature suggests that while building collapse has been linked to inferno, acts of terrorism, global changes in the environment and seismic activities in many western countries [3], in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, most cases of building collapse have been attributed mainly to human factors such design errors and negligence, and lack of institutional mechanisms and capacity to prevent the collapse of buildings [2, 4]. In Africa some studies on building collapse have been done in countries like Kenya, Ghana, Ugandan, South Africa and Cameron [8, 9, 10, 11], the review of published literature reveals that Nigerian scholars seem to have taken the lead in research on this subject This is probably because building failure has turn out to be a regular occurrence in this country. It is understood that when buildings are subjected to abnormal loads that are far and above the design loads, they may suffer extensive damage [13, 14], which in some cases might lead to collapse and causalities
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call