THE EFFECT OF
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT ON PROVISION OF HOUSING
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Infrastructure
refers to the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or
area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to
function (Frank, 2003). It typically characterizes technical structures such as
housing, roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers, electrical grids,
telecommunications, and so forth, and can be defined as “the physical
components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential
to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions. However, all these
coupled together can bring about the provision of good and affordable housing
(Nubi, 2003).
Housing infrastructural provision refers to
the bringing into existence of the basic amenities and services which must be
in place for a particular activity or pursuit. However, no nation can boast of
significant development or an enhanced economy without providing the basic
infrastructures for the citizens’ well-being (Otegbulu & Adewunmi, 2008).
Provision of adequate infrastructural
facilities is not taken for granted in developed countries; however, it remains
a major challenge in developing countries, especially in Nigeria (Ajanlekoko,
2001). According to Yomi (2003), the problem of housing provision has become an
everyday discussion in all quarters of the public and private services of the
developing countries of Africa including Nigeria. It has become increasingly
glaring that most of the urban population live in dehumanizing housing environment
while those that have access to average housing do so at abnormal and
outrageous cost. Different definitions have been ascribed by several authors to
the word infrastructure. Infrastructural development is the provision of basic
physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society
like industries, buildings, roads, bridges, health services, governance and so
on (Amis & Kumar, 2000). It is the development of enterprise or the
products, services and facilities necessary for an economy to function (Sulivan
and Sheffrin, 2003).
Infrastructures can be described generally as
the set of interconnected structural elements that provide framework supporting
an entire structure of development (Donald, 1974). It is an important term for
judging a country, region or state’s and individual’s developments/status. Infrastructural
development typically refers to the provision by government or other authorities
the technical structures that support a society, such as roads, water supply,
sewers, electrical national grids, telecommunications, and so forth (Fulmer,
2009). Amis and Kumar (2000) argued that infrastructure helps individuals cope
with the different dimensions of poverty. It follows therefore, that whenever people
are deprived of basic infrastructures, the result is impoverishment. It also
follows that cities with the greatest number of poor people are those whose
citizens lack infrastructure the most (Fox, 1994). Infrastructure development and
housing provision are interwoven. Without infrastructures, housing cannot be provided
and hence should be treated integrally (Otegbulu and Adewumi, 2008). An ideal
neighbourhood should be provided with good roads, drainage networks,
electricity and portable water supply, good waste management system and
security which are all aimed to ensure conducive housing unit.
The condition of these services in Nigeria towns
and cities contradicts the principle of sustainability in housing provision. A
sustainable housing development would not only have environment friendly and
energy efficient buildings, it would also have access to employment, schools,
shops, places of entertainment, primary health care, and it would be accessible
by public transport.
Adequate supply of housing has remained a
mirage to all cadres of the society in Nigeria. Rapid growth in population
creates demand pressure towards shelter and efficient supply and distribution
of basic utilities and services for city dwellers. In most cities, the problem
of housing is not only restricted to quantity but to the poor quality of
available housing units. Hence, Infrastructural development play an invaluable
role in housing; however things have gone from bad to worse especially in
developing countries like Nigeria. Their arises a need thus for a research into
the state of infrastructural provisions in housing provision, unraveling the
present state of decline, its causalities and, the enactment of probable and
sustainable solutions in the light of new technologies.
One major aspect of Nigeria’s problem with
respect to housing is the poor state of the infrastructures (Ajanlekoko, 2001).
A major challenge to providing adequate housing is the lack of primary infrastructure,
as roads, water, electricity, social amenities etc, which accounts for about 30
percent of housing costs. In most cases developers have to provide the
infrastructures which in most cases falls short of the standards in terms of
quality and quantity — as a means of cutting costs.
Current finance for housing provision
and infrastructural development is inadequate both in terms of capital resources
and of lending policies and conditions compared with the types of income and borrowing
capacity of the large majority of States in Nigeria.
Lack of funds alone is not a root cause
of poor infrastructural development and services. It is a symptom of more
fundamental problems. These include instability, lack of confidence, distorted economic
policies, and difficulties of governance. The mobilization of public and
private funds of infrastructural development depends, in the long run, on the
alleviation of these problems.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Literature on housing provision have tend to
focus more on issues of policy, finance, and economics of housing provision,
issues such as infrastructures are treated en-passant. However as the demand
for quality housing is on the increase researchers are on the outlook for ways
to present housing from a comprehensive perspective. The role of
infrastructural development in housing provision cannot be overemphasized and
should not be treated as a last minute consideration. The study aims at
evaluating the effect of infrastructural development on provision of housing in
Nigeria with a view to provide policy makers and other stake holders the
required information needed to evaluate and review the effectiveness of
policies and delivery strategies and also provide a framework for enforcing
enacted guidelines in view of achieving sustainable developments in the housing
sector thereby ascertaining the sustainability of the housing environment.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The
following are the objectives of this study:
1. To
examine the effect of infrastructural development on the provision of housing.
2. To
examine the level of Nigeria government’s commitment towards infrastructural
development in the country.
3. To
examine the relationship between infrastructural development and provision of
housing.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
is the effect of infrastructural development on the provision of housing?
2. What
is the level of Nigeria government’s commitment towards infrastructural
development in the country?
3. What
is the relationship between infrastructural development and provision of
housing?
1.5 HYPOTHESIS
HO:
There is no significant relationship between infrastructural development and
provision of housing
HA:
There is significant relationship between infrastructural development and
provision of housing
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
following are the significance of this study:
1. The
outcome of this study will educate the government and policy makers in Nigeria
on the level of infrastructural development and provision of housing with a
view of formulating and implementing policies that will ensure good housing and
infrastructural development.
2. This
research will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area of the
effect of personality trait on student’s academic performance, thereby
constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area.
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This
study will cover the level of infrastructural development in Nigeria and its
subsequent effect on the provision of affordable and conducive housing environment.
Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the
efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature
or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire
and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will
simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently
will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
REFERENCES
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for Sustainable Development Nairobi, Kenya.
Amis, D. and
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Donald, C. S.
(1974). Professional Education in Public Works / Environmental Engineering
Administration 5th ed. Chicago. American Public works and
Association. (July/August): 30–32.
Fox, W. F.
(1994). “Strategic Options for Urban Infrastructure Management”. Urban
Management Programme (UMP) Paper 17. The World Bank pp7.
Frank, I. (2003).
The state of Urban Infrastructures in Nigeria. Atlantis Books, Ibadan. Nigeria
Sullivan, A. and
Sheffrin, M. S. (2003). Economics: Principles in action. Upper Saddle River,
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Nubi, T.O (2003).
‘Procuring, Managing and Financing Urban Infrastructure: Towards an Integrated
Approach Land Management and Property Tax Reform in Nigeria, in `Omirin et al(ed.)
Department of Estate Management, University of Lagos, Akoka.
Otegbulu, A and
Adewumi, Y. (2008). “Evaluating the Sustainability of Urban Housing in Nigeria
through Innovative Infrastructural Management”, International Journal of
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Fulmer, Jeffrey
(2009). What in the world is infrastructure? PEI Infrastructure Investor
(July/August): 30–32.
Yomi, F. (2003). Urban Finance and
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