Urban Housing Inequality and the Nature of Relationship Between Formal and Informal Settlements in Enugu Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

The proliferation of urban informal settlements indicates a failure in housing delivery. Stipulations in the SDGs for better affordable housing for all toward eradicating the heinous housing inequality in society seem to be lacking in a deeper understanding of why housing inequality prevails. Debates on housing inequality were mostly concerned with market transition, changing the order of social stratification, and transitions from a centrally planned economy to a market economy; hence the emphasis on the need for a better understanding of the role of housing in social-spatial equity and justice. This study, therefore, aims to fill this research gap by examining the nature of the relationship between informal and formal neighborhoods of the Enugu metropolis, Southeast Nigeria to make an evidence-based contribution to the body of knowledge on this subject. A cross-sectional survey using a quantitative approach was adopted and 24 informal settlements were identified and studied. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and Chi-square. Findings showed the nature of housing inequality in the area as a product of spatially inherent symbiotic relationships embedded in social exclusion, deprivation, and dependency between the formal and informal settlements situating in juxtaposition to one another. At a Chi-square value of 42.643, p = .317 significant at 0.01; residents perceived significant differences in access/availability of decent housing and housing facilities/utility. Interestingly, these informal settlements accommodated over 361,785 unaccounted spill-over populations representing over 60,298 households, constituting 34.69% of the city population not captured in official census records, including over 72.58% of migrants claiming to have relatives residing in these settlements.