Access to Land: Effects on Housing Affordability in Abuja, Nigeria (Published)
The study attempted examination of the effects of access to land on housing affordability in Abuja, Nigeria. Sample population for the study was made up of 5,502 houses selected by purposive sampling techniques in the Six Area Councils in Abuja. The research adopted the 30% Bench Mark using Simple Housing Cost to Income Ratio, for measuring housing affordability status of residents. The 30% Benchmark is widely acceptable due to its simplicity, reliability, time and its effectiveness across markets. (Christopher et al;(2018), Desmond. M (2016). Hulchanski J.D(1995), Joint Center for Housing Studies of Havard University State of Nation’s Housing (2017). Results of analysis indicates that the resident’s median household income is between ₦300,000 to ₦1 million naira only. It was also observed, that there existed a gradual reduction in Median House price, Median Rent and Median Land Price with decrease in the location of Settlements, from the Abuja Central Business District. Therefore, the research revealed, that Median House price, Median Rent and Median land price is far above the acceptable 30% Bench mark for measurement of housing affordability Condition. Expressively, the research observed that Abuja Residents are experiencing worsening housing affordability condition. Access to land was further examined in relation to other identified factors that affects housing affordability, using Likert Scale. The Study thus concluded that, the most important factor that affects housing affordability in Abuja is access to Land. This factor is rated highest (Mean = 5.83, Standard deviation=1.33).
Keywords: Abuja, Housing Affordability, access to land
Housing Habitability in Abuja Indigenous Settlements (Published)
The study examined the housing habitability conditions in Indigenous Peoples Settlements. The research adopted the Urbanized Indigenous Peoples Settlements. These constitutes 14% of the 773 indigenous Settlements that were inexistence at the promulgation of Abuja as the Nigerian New Federal Capital Territory in 1976. In the second stage of data collection,10% of the houses was selected by simple random sampling technique to give a total of 1349 Households. The results of the study revealed that adult constituted lowest proportion (3.4%) of residents in the Indigenous Peoples Settlements. Analysis of Variance(ANOVA) confirmed that, there were significant differences in the age distribution of residents (F=4.11, p= 0.005). The results also inferred, that a trifling 1.0% of the residents in the study area were high income earners, while 99.0% were low and middle income earners. Housing habitability attributes were subjected to factor analysis to evaluate the factors of housing habitability conditions in the study area. Thus, it was discovered that there existed negative correlation between privacy(va), proxemics and security(vb);(-5108,0.0011). The research also opined that abundant, affordable and reliable energy supply(vh) had positive correlation in all Indigenous Settlements (ve,0.6120,0.0001). Furthermore, the study identified social, location, structural and neighborhood attributes as factors that influenced housing habitability in the Indigenous people residents Settlements. In general, the Study concluded that lack of houses with building codes compliance, absence of building with certified designs and absence of fire safety measures was the highest factor (mean=3.32, standard deviation = 0.334) that influence housing habitability conditions. While the next ranked factor of housing habitability (mean=3.12, standard deviation=0.232) was the lack of access road to most Indigenous Settlements.
Citation: Dauda S. (2022) Housing Habitability in Abuja Indigenous Settlements, International Journal of Civil Engineering, Construction and Estate Management, Vol.10, No.2, pp.67-124
Keywords: Abuja, Housing, Nigeria new federal capital territory, habitability, indigenous peoples’ settlements