The Development of a framework for sustainable housing delivery in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

There is an estimated 16 million housing units shortfall in Nigeria and the government cannot meet the housing needs of Nigerians because of budgetary constraints and other competing needs. It is important to note that the leaders have failed on numerous occasions to tackle the key challenges associated with a lack of infrastructure development. The emphasis has been placed on the individual homeowners fulfilling all their own requirements. The aim of this research is to develop a framework that will aid sustainable housing delivery in Lagos one of the most challenged areas of Nigeria. A clearer picture of the housing environment in Lagos was documented based on critical literature reviews, analysis of the reasons why there is a deficiency in housing and its infrastructure delivery. The aim of the researcher was following the identification of the challenges to draw up a framework that would assist the relevant stakeholders namely the householders, developers and government in overcoming these and delivering further sustainable housing. The research was completed using a mixed method including qualitative and quantitative means of acquiring necessary information in the form of a detailed literature review followed by a questionnaire survey of 500 household respondents. A total of 496 sets of data were collected through the questionnaire survey and analysed using SPSS, Excel and selected statistical methods. Validation of the framework was done using focus group discussions with stakeholders. Interviews with key housing and government personnel were also held including an analysis of 5 case studies. The key findings are that 1) the market economy approach along with flexible, efficient economic instruments are key factors in enabling the construction industry to positively respond to sustainable development in terms of resource efficiencies and environmental protection in a developing economy like Nigeria. 2) The social and political barriers cannot be overcome without a meeting of wills amongst the stakeholders. 3) There needs to be transparency and the desire to achieve the objective so the monitors will be effective to counteract dissatisfied individuals that will come out of the bureaucratic woodwork. 4) There needs to be an urban redesign driven by stakeholders keen to see government policy align with sustainable housing objectives. Key recommendations from this research are that: 1) The government should partner with the private sector to provide enough homes for Nigerians. 2) The government should henceforth concentrate in outlining good policy framework for the sector providing much needed infrastructural and financial support that will encourage sustainability and systematic development of housing in the country. The framework developed in this research is envisaged to be contributory in road mapping the way and identifying key attributes and strategy for delivering sustainable housing in Lagos, Nigeria. Keywords: Sustainable housing, environment, government policy, urban redesign, framework