Understanding The Social Drivers of Liveability in Osogbo, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the elements that affect the liveability of Osogbo, the Osun metropolis. Liveability entails safe, socially cohesive, inclusive and environmental sustainable urban space. Previous studies on liveability have failed to consider the fact that social factors can have significant influence on liveability. Therefore, this paper examined the influence of social factors on liveability of Osogbo, Nigeria. Purposive specimens were employed to determine and test one hundred and nine (109) residents spanning the two urban government areas in the metropolis. A questionnaire with a sample framework was introduced to obtain statistics from tested residents. Relative Importance Index (RII), 8 x 8 correlation matrix, and factor analysis were used to configure the data that were gathered. There were eight (8) main components found to be altering the liveability of the city. In varied order of significance by the RII, they are Improvishment, crime, ethnicity, norms and values, social, interactions, culture, disability, and religion. The correlation matrix indicated that all other positive relationships were found between the variables except for ethnicity and crime which correlated negatively with one another. The suitability of the variables loaded for the analysis was verified by Bartlett's Test of Sphericity with a p-value of 0.001 and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sample suitability (KMO) value of 0.647. A conclusion is reached that poverty alleviation efforts with deliberate policies of inclusion by the government and massive public awareness programme to sensitize the residents on the need to consider their neighbours irrespective of their race or tribe, ethnic origin, religious leaning, social status, and cultural background as brothers this will significantly help in addressing social challenges of liveability within the metropolitan area.