| Author: | Akinwande, Timothy Olugbenga |
| Title: | An integrated framework for effective affordable housing provision in Nigeria |
| Advisors: | Hui, C. M. Eddie (BRE) |
| Degree: | Ph.D. |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Subject: | Housing -- Nigeria Low-income housing -- Nigeria Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Department of Building and Real Estate |
| Pages: | xx, 259 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Many studies have been carried out on affordable housing across developed and developing countries of the world. These studies have made insightful contributions to knowledge and also policy-oriented recommendations that informs practice. Despite numerous research efforts, housing the urban poor has continued to be a global challenge, with more research emphasis on novel, realistic and pragmatic approaches. An extensive review of literature reveals a prevailing variance in AH between demand and supply. For pragmatic solutions to these constraints, it is apposite to thoroughly examine solutions from demand and supply sides toward consolidating solutions from these bilateral viewpoints. Further, a conceptual gap in literature is the common practice of investigating AH provision challenges without making a case for the key elements of housing supply value chain (HSVC). Addressing the challenge of affordable housing provision in an effective manner will require pragmatic approaches that investigate the key elements of HSVC as individual elements and realistically as interconnected elements that influence the success or failure of effective affordable housing (EAH) provision. This study is conceptualized around these identified lacunae to investigate solutions to prevailing AH provision constraints across the entire HSVC. This study aimed at integrating affordable housing solutions from both users and experts’ perspectives vis a vis the major components of HSVC for EAH provision. On the one hand, informal settlers were rigorously examined to ascertain how informal housing strategies of the urban poor can impact on HSVC toward EAH provision for the urban poor. On the other hand, housing experts were thoroughly investigated to ascertain significant expert solutions to prevailing AH provision challenges across the entire HSVC. Thus, the study is bilateral in approach integrating both user-oriented (demand) and expert-oriented (supply) viewpoints to achieve EAH provision. The research enquiry is: “What pragmatic framework of integrated solutions can enhance the achievement of effective affordable housing provision for the urban poor in Nigeria?” To critically explore this research question, five complementary objectives were derived: (i) to investigate strategies developed by the urban poor in Nigeria to provide suitable AH for themselves and their families, considering their socio-economic limitations. (ii) to examine how informal housing strategies of the urban poor can inform affordable land acquisition, affordable housing finance and affordable housing construction towards EAH provision in Nigeria. (iii) to ascertain experts’ solutions to constraints in affordable land acquisition, affordable housing finance and affordable housing construction in Nigeria. (iv) to examine the nexus between demand-oriented solutions deduced from the urban poor’s strategies and experts’ housing solutions towards EAH provision in Nigeria; and (v) to consolidate findings to develop and propose a pragmatic framework (that envelopes both users and experts’ solutions) for EAH provision for the urban poor in Nigeria. The five research objectives were achieved using qualitative methods with robust data, such as semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The data analysis processes utilised were systematic thematic analysis, content analysis, deductive analysis, comparative analysis, integrative analysis and descriptive statistics using NVivo and Microsoft Excel. Findings from this study are that there are concealed and untapped resources within the housing strategies of the urban poor that might inform suitable AH provision approaches. Findings show that 100% of sampled urban poor are casually employed where they earn little irregular income or zero income, limiting their housing finance capacities and creditworthiness. The urban poor are involved in community savings and employ microfinance institutions within the informal settlements to tackle their housing finance predicaments. Incremental housing, alternative housing, improvised housing, shared housing and low-budget rental housing are housing construction strategies common among the urban poor. The urban poor are mostly renters and are therefore less involved in land acquisition. These are informal housing strategies of the urban poor that can inform demand-oriented solutions to prevalent AH provision challenges. Study findings reveal that informal housing strategies of the urban poor can influence HSVC towards EAH provision approaches. If deliberate efforts are made by government to modify and enhance informal strategies of the urban poor, they can be incorporated into housing policies to improve AH finance, land acquisition and housing construction which will consequently enhance the suitability of AH provision. Deliberate government policies that recognise and include the housing realities of the urban poor were found to be the most significant AH expert solution consistent across the entire HSVC. This study provides insights into critical solutions to AH constraints and are informative for best approaches to achieve EAH provision for the urban poor in Nigeria; an essential ingredient for sustainable development goals (SDGs). Findings established solutions from both users and experts’ standpoints that were consolidated into more effective affordable housing provision solutions in developing economies. The integrated framework for EAH provision developed in this study has capacity to eliminate the persistent misalliance between AH demand and supply, thereby enhancing effectiveness in AH provision for the urban poor in developing economies. Study findings have several theoretical, policy, practical and propaedeutic implications. The study is first to investigate informal housing strategies of the urban poor along the entire HSVC. It is first to explore experts’ housing solutions along the entire HSVC to produce an equation model of critical solutions to AH provision challenges. This study is novel in consolidating AH solutions from users (demand) and experts’ (supply) viewpoints, especially in relation to the major components of HSVC to develop a pragmatic framework for EAH provision. The integrated framework for EAH provision in developing economies formulated in this study is significant for the achievement of SDGs, especially goal 11 for sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
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