Problems and Prospects of Urban Planning in Nigeria

In this article we discus the problems and prospects of urban planning in Nigeria. Urban planning, as it were has played enormous role in the social, political and economic growth of the Nigerian nation.

In urban planning, priority is placed on designing cities within the country in such a way that urban services and their features are well located in order to bring about optimal benefits of quality living standard of the residents and the socio-economic development of these cities.

Infrastructures are so well allocated in order to serve all the aspects of urban centers and connect them for the success of every sector of the economy, such as education and industry and business and recreation.

Problems and Prospects of Urban Planning in Nigeria

Problems and Prospects of Urban Planning in Nigeria

Urban planners understood that urban cities comprises of different areas which must function together in unison so as to have positive impact on the other in a comparative manner. In urban planning frame work, there are some areas in the cities that are set aside for some specific purposes.

A certain area within the urban center could be for industrial purposes, where you have factories and warehouses, and for other areas of businesses, an area could be allocated still within the city for restaurants and shopping malls and other services places.

Others can be residential areas, where residential houses are built, for example, in an estate, where it is designed to accommodate ratio of building to open space.

Moreso, infrastructures and facilities are well placed such that are needed by individuals, industries and commercial businesses so as to make urban life worthwhile.

These include; provision of transportation, telecommunication, water, schools, power (electricity) etc. Others are provision of good road network and railway to allow access and connectivity and as well, movement of vehicles, goods and people; and there are provisions for the maintenance of these facilities in urban planning development plan.

There are placement of public utilities that disposes waste of all sort in urban centers and also a particular place, which houses government building and activities like what we have in Akwa Ibom state, example, Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat, and Hilltop mansion. Other areas could be designed for banking activities, whereas, others could be for sports and museum and theater.

In urban planning these designs and placement and connectivity allows for linkages among these different parts of the urban cities hence, engendered free movement and easy accessibility from one place to another within the cities.

In this article, we will seek to explain the following topics:

  • problems of urban planning in nigeria
  • history of urban development in nigeria
  • identify and discuss four causes and four consequences of urbanization in nigeria
  • urbanization in nigeria pdf
  • problems of urbanisation and solutions
  • pre-colonial urbanization in nigeria
  • effects of urbanisation in lagos
  • history of urbanization in nigeria

What is urban planning?

Urban planning is a process of arranging and designing and organizing a city and space for different activities. Urban planning is an aspect of, or a branch of architecture. It deals with plan that has to do with future arrangement of cities.

Meaning of architecture:

Architecture is that area of human endeavour that has to do with designing, and constructing of beautiful structure.

Planning; what is it?

Planning is the process of putting up strategies for some sort of programme or project.

Prospects of urban planning in Nigeria

1. Actualization of government vision

Urban planning brings about positive impacts within the urban centers and cities. In a democratic society, leaders are elected to deliver dividend of democracy, and one of such dividends is the improvement of urban centers in order to bring about sustainable development.

In view of the enormous challenges faced by modern cities today, there is need for cities that tend to be developed to have a proper design, and in the course of proper designing of the urban centers, cities are transformed to meet with the blue print of the government hence, pressing issues are discovered as the resources available are well utilized for the purpose of meeting government vision.

2. Staying ahead of challenges

When expecting anything in the future, one will have to prepare for or about it. This is applicable to the concept of urban planning. Looking at the possible prospects of the future allowed for urban planning today.

Urban planning helps in working against any challenge in the future. Leaders are determined to maximize every opportunity and confront any challenge and manage risk from any reliable point.

It helps to make information accessible that is currently connecting shot-term vision with long-term vision, and any planned city is always ahead of other cities in terms of development.

3. Impact on urban economy

Urban planning, in the most part, helps in creating employment opportunities for the people and any city that want to create jobs cannot wait, but plan the city accordingly.

In the current economy, people are drifted from rural areas to urban centers and these urban cities are seeking and searching for investors, who can come in and invest so as to create jobs and it is only a planned city that attracts investors for investments.

Through planning, an area of the urban city is located for the economic activity, where investors could come in and build their industries and factories hence, facilitate development, since these factories are build in the out skirt of the city thus, the planning is further lead to urbanization.

Problems of urban planning in Nigeria

1. Environmental changes and recession

The current economic reality in the nation has affected adversely the proper planning of many of the urban cities within the Nigerian nation due to economic hardship and environmental changes.

2. Negative mindset and inadequate internally generated revenue

In today’s political environment, great improvement can be achieved within Nigerian cities, but unbelief that, a huge sum of money can be generated internally to finance urban planning has hampered urban planners from taking to their responsibilities. Therefore, the way they think about funding urban planning is in itself a serious challenge.

3. Lack of appraisal

Lack of appraisal of town planner’s value and their work, in terms of short-term or long-term has also posed a serious challenge to urban planning in Nigeria.

Conclusions and Suggestions

To help urban cities thrive successfully, particularly, in this era of economic downturn, there should be a new approach to urban planning by urban planners, and in this era, their task in planning urban cities is much more important than some decades ago.

Resource gotten today could be preserved for future project; this will serve as an opportunity to achieve much, even in the midst of lack and economic crunch.

There is need also for urban planners to look inward and assess as to what extent they have impacted positively through their work and duties. The value of their work ought to be appraised.

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