Socioeconomic characteristics and sense of community in public housing estates in Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sense of community is a necessary ingredient for existing and future communities in developed and developing countries to thrive. However, there are socioeconomic factors that have the potential to influence the sense of community in developing countries. This is an aspect that is underreported in literature in developing countries like Nigeria. This study examines the influence of socioeconomic factors on the sense of community in selected public housing estates in Akure, Southwest, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the research. Single-factor descriptive Analysis, Mean Scoring and Categorical Regression Analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings showed that the sense of community in the study area was above average and that socioeconomic characteristics jointly predicted of sense of community. However, of the nine socioeconomic variables, four were significant predictors of sense of community in this context. The four significant variables were employment status, level of education, tenure status and age. The paper concludes by providing implications, considering the significant factors especially in developing strategies to enhance the sense of community in the study area.