Examining Urban Land Use and Misuse in Aba North and South Local Government Areas, Abia State

Contents lists available at Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Journal homepage: www.cepajournal.com Examining Urban Land Use and Misuse in Aba North and South Local Government Areas, Abia State Umunnakwe Henry, C.1 and Azubuine Chika, E2 1. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Abia State University, Uturu. 2. Department of Architecture, Abia State Universuity, Uturu. Correspondence Author: Dr. Umunnakwe Henry, C. GSM: 07036906677. Email: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Received 28 April 2019 Good shelter and healthy environment is one of the basic necessities of Received in revised form 19th May 2019 life outside food and water. This study is aimed at examining the general Accepted 17th June 2019 Available online 28th June, 2019 living conditions as a result of the use and mis-use of urban infrastructures with a view of making appropriate proposal of renewal strategies that will aid in providing a more decent living for the residents of Aba North and Aba south local government of Abia State. A sample of the population living in the study area were investigated and Keywords: conclusion drawn from the findings. The data collected were analyzed Urbanization, Urban using tables and percentages. Findings reveal that the use and misuse of Environment, Urban Land Use Aba North and South range from on-street parking, to illegal refuse and Misuse, Land use activities, disposal and conversion of some land use activities. It was also found urban infrastructure out that Aba north has a high land use misue in institutional (91%), residential (90%), and industrial (80.90%). Similarly, Aba south has institutional (97%), agricultural (90%) and recreational (89%)as various aspects of land uses that were being misused. Based on the findings, the study concluded that the study areas surfers from a high misuse of land uses. It is therefore recommended that there should be a strict control of various urban land use development activities in a manner that fosters healthy environment. copyright@ 2019 cepa Introduction serious challenging problems to scholars, The rapid rate of urbanization and planners, government and the general complexities of urbanization process in populace alike. According to (2017), the Nigeria today have increasingly posed phenomenal rise in the number and size of Umunnakwe H.C. and Azubuine C.E./Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Vol. 10, No. 1, (2019) 21 – 31 our cities like Aba north and Aba south as Consequently, living condition of this a result of rural urban migration have over nature become unbearable and tends to the years resulted in several shortage negate the goals and objective of a through the use and mis-use of the urban planned urban environment. In particular environment. These shortages may they have created problems to urban include electricity, water, road and other planning and development authorities in urban infrastructure and amenities, that magnitude are now at weighing the (Abeboi, 2008). This in-turn worsens the estimations, projections and planning state of urban environment in Aba- north proposals produced. To arrest these ugly and south local government areas in Abia trends of development and to make State. The pace of these use and mis –use appropriate proposals for the future, this of the urban environment in the study area researcher considers it a vital issue to have been such that maintenance of tackle the problems more effectively. modest environmental standards Therefore appropriate strategies have to inevitable have to slag behind. The results be applied in order to bring about the has the increasing emergency of urban desired effect in Aba north and Aba south decay in some part of these areas, even in Abia State - the study area. though, in terms of age, these two local government may be described as young Statement of the Problem when compared to other cities in Nigeria. The observation I made during the cause The phenomenal increase in population of this study ranges from inadequate and its attendant effects on the urban housing to general deficiencies in the environment, especially infrastructure and provision of public services and facilities. other land uses, gave rise to this investigation. These effects have left It should be noted that these two local much to be desired. Today the living governments, (Aba north and south) are conditions in some parts of Aba North and the main city and the heart of beat of Abia South have worsened as a result of; poor state and south east Nigeria. As a result of quality housing, on-street parking which the increasing high commercial activity it generate heavy traffic especially at the commands, it attracts people from park hours of the morning and evening, different locations in and outside the conversion of land uses, alteration of country and these has been manifested by planning scheme, sewage blockage with over-crowding, urban slums, dirty, refuse, mixed land uses, deteriorated and insanitary conditions, diseases, squalors, unmaintained streets, poor draining, inadequate social amenities, unsanitary inadequate provision of public services and unhealthy environmental conditions, and facilities, non-adherence to building absence of open spaces, over built up setbacks, illegal and unapproved areas, congestion and poor circulation of developments, lack of open spaces among the layouts. others and these represent some of the conspicuous environmental problems 22 Umunnakwe H.C. and Azubuine C.E./Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Vol. 10, No. 1, (2019) 21 – 31 which plague the area. In spite of the fact access to many places and these problems that these areas is relatively highly have turned these areas to a breeding populated and located at the city Centre ground for all sorts of social vices such as there are generally no organized pattern of prostitution, drug addiction and peddling. land use. It is therefore against this backdrop that the researcher developed keen interest in Houses or dwellings are scattered the study. The study will also open up indiscriminately all over the place. Most more avenues for further study in this houses in the study area apart from being topic for other researchers and when this substandard both in physical appearance is done, the urban environment will be and internal facilities, from the stand point more suitable and satisfactory for all to of age and the constitution materials used, live in and also enhance both social and they have since out lived their usefulness economic growth of Abia state in general. considering the increasing need or demand for adequate housing provision in Aim and Objectives of the Study urban environment. Aim: The aim of the study is to examine Hence, a large percentage of the houses the rate of use and misuse of land uses in have dangerous cracks on their walls and Aba North and South urban environment, foundations, while in some others, doors with a view to provide appropriate living and windows have dismembered and hang conditions for the residents of the area. in a dangerous manner. The situation is worsened of the fact that in some areas Objectives: The study objectives are: like Obohia and park road average of 4-6 1. to identify the general living persons are crammed together in such conditions of Aba North and Aba rooms that has poor ventilation. This South areas congestion was found to be as a result of 2. to examine the extent the study areas aggravated number of rural urban have been used and misused emigrants who come to the area as 3. to determine the quality of the artisans or apprentices- there are temporal environmental condition of the study structures (batchers) in some areas like area, and the park road by rail which are used for 4. to analyze the variables that are used residential purposes and these areas do and misused in order to ascertain the not have essential amenities like toilet rate of use and misused of the study facilities and therefore they make use of area. surrounding bushes near the area. According to the information received from the residents of some parts of the Literature Review study area, the above mentioned problems The respective high rate of urban leads to pools of stagnant water during the development which has been witnessed in rainy season, leading to lack of vehicular the cities in recent times has brought into 23 Umunnakwe H.C. and Azubuine C.E./Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Vol. 10, No. 1, (2019) 21 – 31 focus some emergent environmental Aba North and South of Abia state that issues of far reaching implications on the this study is made germane. living conditions of urban dwellers (Okolia, 2014; Harper and Piper, 2009). Urban renewal as a method or strategy Urbanization which is the rise in that could be used in solving the effect of population of a total population that is the use and misuse of urban environment concentrated in urban settlement as has been variously described by different distinct from the rural dispersion has authors and organizations. Some scholars affected the use of urban environment hold the belief that this term is nebulous (Adibeh and Esagha 2017; Haramby and with several possible meanings and that Morgan, 2016) and has been a major the concept is as old as cities themselves concern for planners. (Richard 2007). However, in the midst of all those doubts and misconceptions some One major concern and challenge of academicians and international urban population growth in Nigeria has organization have made a number of been to provide a tolerable urban contributions towards giving a more environment for increasing concentration general definition on the terms. of people in urban area or cities of the country (Honner and Sommer, 2014; Other diversified views on urban renewal Agugu, 2017).

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