Unpacking the connections between transport and well-being in socially disadvantaged communities: Structural equations approach to low-income neighbourhoods in Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction Emerging interest in social issues related to transport in cities facing rapid demographic and socioeconomic transitions has led to increasing interest in the relationships between well-being and transport disadvantage. However, unpacking such links has been elusive at best, and mainstream research has not embraced the particularities and diversities of Global South cities as research settings. Most research has focused on subjective approaches to well-being and ideas of satisfaction with and quality of life. Purpose We propose a well-being framework tailored to the specific characteristics derived from transport problems faced by low-income urban dwellers. This concept, Transport Well-being, attempts to shed light on how transport may affect components of well-being such as access to key opportunities, ability to enjoy the built environment and security while travelling. We build on the person-centred framework (White, 2010), to examine Transport Well-being in its relational, material and subjective dimensions. Methods We use a quantitative dataset of a randomly selected sample of 570 adults in low-income informal settlements in the periphery of the cities of Abuja, Kaduna and Ibadan in Nigeria. Data is analysed using a structural equation model (SEM), which seeks to explain the links between second-level latent variable Perceived Transport Advantage/Disadvantage and Transport Well-being. Results We find a strong correlation between Perceived Transport Advantage/Disadvantage and Transport Well-being (0.652) with a model specification that reflects statistically significant associations, while finding marked differences between the three cities analysed. This suggests that incorporating multiple dimensions of transport and well-being and contextual issues of the Global South can lead to different interpretations of transport-related well-being and its relation with social and transport disadvantage. Conclusions The structural equation model enabled us to incorporate variables that captured the spirit of conceptualisations of transport disadvantage and transport well-being and to explore their links under context-specific conditions for comparable population. Findings can inform differentiated policy definition and prioritization in contexts with limited resources and structural deficits in access and connectivity. Such a result is useful to de-construct the effects and intensity of urban transport as mediating factor in well-being.