Where is Home for the Abuja, Nigeria Urban Poor

Obiadi Bons N,Onochie A O,Nzewi N U

doi:10.31142/ijtsrd21656

Obiadi Bons N, Onochie A O + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.31142/ijtsrd21656

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Abstract

Although Abuja officially became the capital of Nigeria in December 1992, the plan to relocate the capital of Nigeria from Lagos to Abuja was conceived in 1975. A Master Plan of the Abuja Federal Capital Territory was designed but successive governments in Abuja neglected these principles leading to inadequate housing and perverted urbanization. The current Abuja settlement patterns (formal and informal) are not concerned with integration and sustainability. The most vulnerable, the urban poor, had to arrange, on their own, where to live and that resulted in shanty settlements. The study areas are characterized by Quick-Fix homes, made with abandoned and used building materials from construction sites. This paper argues that successive Abuja governments have not considered all the housing options in housing the urban poor and in other to stay close to work, the urban poor infiltrate the formal settlement areas of the city and that resulted in dualistic and pluralistic settlements in Abuja. Keywords: dichotomy; environment; development; housing; architecture; commerce

Highlights

Obiadi (2017), citing Lerner (2003), the city is a fundamental and universal human creation
Development was taken to areas which hitherto were generally sparsely populated and contributed quite little to the national economies of each country
The design concept and physical development of the new capitals have been underpinned by the theory and principles of “garden city” by Ebenezer Howard (1898) which influenced the building of Letchworth in 1902 and Welwyn in 1920 as new towns, dealing with urban poverty, inadequacy of housing and spatial integration

Summary

Introduction

Obiadi (2017), citing Lerner (2003), the city is a fundamental and universal human creation. It is a unique center for social life as well as individual and collective fulfillment. What have undergone transformation are the complexity of city life and the size of urban communities. The first cities were small enclosures with small numbers of inhabitants. They were limited in conception and size and reflected on earth man’s vision of a limited universe that, like his city, sheltered him (Okonkwo, 2006)

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