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Assessment of the Location and Availability of Public Facilities and Services in Port Harcourt Metropolis in Rivers State, Nigeria

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Assessment of the Location and Availability of Public Facilities and Services in Port Harcourt Metropolis in Rivers State, Nigeria INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 4, ISSUE 06, JUNE 2015 ISSN 2277-8616 Assessment Of The Location And Availability Of Public Facilities And Services In Port Harcourt Metropolis In Rivers State, Nigeria Eyenghe Tari, Ibama Brown, Wocha Chikagbum ABSTRACT: The continues increase in both urban and rural population has birthed the problem of inadequate availability of facilities and social services thus giving rise to social disparity and unequal access to basic facilities and services by people of the same population spectrum. Consequently, the problem of social disparity (inequality) is on the increase and is gaining global and local attention. Despite the efforts of government to combat this social problem, it is still raising its head in form of unequal access to educational facilities, heath care, good roads, emergency services and etcetera. Hence the study was intended to ascertain whether or not there is disparity in distribution and access to facilities and services by assessing facilities and services in Port Harcourt City. The study adopted the simple random technique for data collection. Also, primary and secondary data were the major data collected with the use of closed ended structured questionnaire. However, the result of the study showed that income formed a major determining factor in the distribution of facilities and services in Port Harcourt while population threshold was not considered significantly in the study area. However, the study revealed that there is gap in the distribution of facilities and services i n Port Harcourt City. The recommendations included the involvement of the citizens at grass root in decision making, facilities and services should be provided with respect to actual population on ground, income level should not determine facilities and service distribution. The study concluded that there is disparity and unequal access in the distribution of social services and facilities. Keywords: Infrastructure, Facilities, Services, Disparity, Urbanization, Population. ———————————————————— INTRODUCTION The main issue that will be raised is if the government The urbanization process in cities all over the world is will be able to provide the basic amenities needed to increasing rapidly thereby increasing the need for the enable the populace to live a good However, the provision of infrastructural facilities and services to meet increasing rate of urbanization has an after effect in the needs of the steaming population of the world. urban growth and development with disparity within an According to Baker, (2007), the estimated population of urban environment in the distribution of infrastructural the world‟s urban areas will equal the rural population for facilities and social services. The quality of the first time in history. This increase and growth in the governance is partly i d e n t i f i e d by the governments‟ urban population is expected to continue to rise, as ability to equitably distribute infrastructural facilities and projected to reach almost 5 billion in 2030. Much of social services. The government‟s role extends to the this urbanization is predicted to take place in the establishment of healthcare delivery, educational developing world, with Asia and Africa having the largest facilities, fire service stations, waste management, urban growth. Enger and Smith (2006) have earlier said transportation infrastructure, property rights, police that traditionally, most of the populations of the protection units, judiciary, national defence, regulation of developing world have been rural. He further said in market activity and so on which are theoretically recent years, the number of people migrating to the cities categorized as public goods and services, Arvind et al, have grown rapidly. However, the reasons for these (2006). The availability and quality of infrastructural migrants are to access social services and cultural facilities and services are viewed as instrumental for benefits that are not available in the rural areas. development and growth in developing countries. The lack of publicly provided infrastructure in turn has been shown to constitute an important bottleneck for the development of private sector Reinikka and Svensson, (2002). Furthermore, the concept of inequality is ________________________ common in the developing countries. Cities in developing countries are associated with unequal access Ibama Brown is currently a Lecturer in the to physical and social services, low housing quality, Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the unemployment, etc. Inequality is the gap between two Rivers State University of Science and Technology, groups of persons within a specific location in space. It Port Harcourt, PH-+2348035519084. is worthy to note that the United Nations Commission on E-mail: [email protected] Human Settlements UNCHS in (1995) present‟s Eyenghe Tari is currently a research assistant in inequality as one of the areas for more fundamental the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in research and it is specially stressed in the report on the Rivers State University of Science and human settlement „Cities in a Globalizing World‟ UNCHS, Technology, Port Harcourt, PH +2348055136552 (2000). Generally, people believe that there is gap in Email: [email protected] the distribution of infrastructural facilities and social Wocha Chikagbum is currently a Lecturer in the services such as healthcare, education, roads, security, Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the safety, water supply, etc, amongst a given population in Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori. PH+2348036751450 a specific location. However, this notion lacks empirical Email: [email protected] evidence, hence; this study intends to access the 126 IJSTR©2015 www.ijstr.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 4, ISSUE 06, JUNE 2015 ISSN 2277-8616 infrastructural facilities and services in Port Harcourt with with unplanned Urban spatial layout and mostly deprived the view to ascertain whether or not disparity in the from access to adequate housing, residential land, distribution and access to the facilities and services. municipal services and other urban benefits. The advantageous groups tend to reside in the ordered, formally RESEARCH QUESTION planned and structured high income areas and enjoy The fundamental questions raised in this research which municipal services. This is evident of urban inequality in formed the pivot of this study included; the system further increasing urban poverty. Thus, on the (1). What are the available facilities and services in other hand, the allocation of public resources is the study area? essentially a political decision. Politicians allocate public (2). What are the conditions of the available facilities funds in ways that improve their chances of winning and services in the study area? elections. In other to do so, public officials can provide (3). What are the criteria used be government in the infrastructure and services universally and thus improve distribution and location of facilities and services? the lots of everyone, or they can target resources to (4). Is there gap in the distribution of facilities and localities, ind ividuals or specific groups, Dafe, (2009). services in the study area? This notion has caused socio-economic disparity and (5). What planning strategies for equitable distribution of inequality in many settlements be it urban or rural facilities and services? environment. Dafe, (2009) has identified in the city of Nairobi, Kenya that spatial segregation is caused by LITERATURE REVIEW income status. She further illustrated that better infrastructure and services are provided to residents of FACILITIES AND SERVICES: AN OVERVIEW higher income areas thereby living the urban poor living in slums to decide their fate, as government justified that Urban inequalities are a result of economic, demographic their settlements are informal and urban service delivery and social stratifications affected by political will, would be on their official recognized settlements. management, distribution of resources and corruption at McFarlane and Rutherford, (2008) focused explicitly on different levels in society. The resulting effect or non- the construction of differential and inequality between existent service provision, interrupted service or poor social groups through the discursive and material in facility management of infrastructure and services shaping of urban infrastructure. For ex a mpl e , in availability, delivery, maintenance and interlinked aspects p r o d u c i n g distinctive n o t i o n s and ideals of of social services and management are burning nexus that m o d e r n i t y , morality, public space and citizenship, they need urgent attention and political will. Failure to do so offered an empirical challenge to the existence of a will inevitably lead to deprivation and inequality, a retarded modern infrastructural ideal by demonstrating how forms economy and social stigma in urban societies. In addition, of universal, equitable provision of services were rarely spatial and social fragmentations have serious implications achieved in Southern cities. This highlights a significant for urban growth and competitiveness Halfani, (1998) shift in the dominant logic underpinning service cited in Cheru, (2005). The lack of foreign provision from universal supply to adaptation to investment, negligible involvement in international trade, demand, with the increasing inequalities
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