Appraisal of the Sufficiency of Habitable Housing to the Urban Poor in Lagos State

Department of Building Technology, Lagos State Polytechnic, Lagos, Nigeria. Corresponding Author: D.O Olanrewaju ________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract The importance of decent housing has been well recognized, articulated and elucidated in the literature, yet a great proportion of the urban poor in Nigeria especially in Lagos State still live in substandard and poor houses and in deplorable environments. The need to provide adequate shelter for all as well as the important of human settlement is therefore critical to the achievement of sustainable urban growth and cities development. This paper examines the sufficiency of habitable housing among the urban poor in Lagos State. An overview of strategies towards ensuring adequate housing was also examined. The study was carried out with the aid of well structured questionnaire to elicit required information from the respondents in the study area, building and facility survey using random sampling techniques. Findings from the study revealed the insufficiency of habitable housing among the urban poor. Recommendations were proffered to guide the policy makers towards enhancing the lives of the residents of the area. Some of these include upgrading programme through the provision of urban basic services and improved sanitation strategies for sustainable management of the area, government to realistically estimate the quantitative housing needs of the people and their multi-dimensional nature taken into consideration. This research provides empirical information on housing conditions and infrastructural facilities available to the urban poor in Lagos State with a view to improve their quality of life and better the environment. __________________________________________________________________________________________