Housing Strategies and Quality of Housing in Nigeria: what lessons from Wales?

This paper discusses the strategies for the provision of housing in Nigeria and the nexus with quality of housing. It reviews the various approaches at the provision of housing for Nigerian urban and rural dwellers since the independence of Nigeria over fifty years ago. The paper notes that housing need in Nigeria particularly in urban centres has continued to increase phenomenally while effective demand by the vast majority of the populace has not shown any visible improvement. It further notes that a consequence of all the interplay of forces in housing provision has been poor quality of housing in the country. It takes a look at housing provision in Wales, UK and the strategies used in achieving this, and draws a correlation with the Nigerian situation. It asserts that there are lessons to be learnt from Wales in improving housing provision and reducing the level of housing inadequacy in Nigeria. Keywords: nexus, Nigeria, quality, strategies, Wales.

Conceptual Framework for the Adoption of Computer-aided architectural Design (CAAD) in the Teaching and Learning of Architecture

Digital technologies are changing the way we live, think, learn, and conduct businesses across the world. In fact, information and communication technologies have completely changed the way architects practice their profession, and thus it is imperative that architectural educators embrace this change intelligently in other to enhance the quality of products they unleash unto the labour market. In view of the important role architects play in the construction industry, new and innovative teaching approaches are needed in the delivery of curriculum that reflects both contemporary and future trends in information management in the construction industry. This paper aims at developing a conceptual framework for understanding the adoption of Computer –aided architectural design (CAAD) in the teaching and learning of architecture in the Schools of Architecture. It relies on extensive review of literature, the precepts of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the key issues, challenges, and prospects of the adoption CAAD technologies in the delivery of architecture curriculum content in the Schools of Architecture in the developing countries. The proposed framework is expected to firstly, extend understanding on innovative and sustainable pedagogies for producing information technology compliant professionals in architecture profession in particular, and construction industry in general; and secondly provide the basis for empirical research on this subject

Residents’ Perception of Quality of Public Housing in Lagos, Nigeria

The perception of residents on the quality of the public housing was the subject of this study. This was in the light of the fact that this approach is being increasingly adopted in the provision of housing for to mitigate deficiencies in this area. A survey of fifteen out of seventy-nine estates selected across the three separate income typologies and the three housing providers in Lagos State, Nigeria. Data were collected through the use of structured questionnaires. The results of the study reveal that although the respondents indicated that the spaces provided were adequate, the areas of services such as electricity and water supply need to be addressed. The spacing of the buildings also needs to be addressed in subsequent schemes as the respondents indicate high obstruction to ventilation

Evaluation of Energy Use in Public Housing in Lagos, Nigeria: Prospects for Renewable Energy Sources

Even though domestic energy can be from either renewable or non-renewable sources, the former is preferred because of its role in reducing both the operational energy intensity and carbon footprint. Given the positive role renewable energy plays in the energy mix, this paper examined the pattern of operational energy use with particular reference to the renewable and non-renewable energy content in medium and high density public residential buildings in Lagos, Nigeria. A survey research method was adopted for primary data collection while data analysis was by descriptive statistics. The study found that renewable energy use in the residential units is very low. In contrast, there was high dependence of the occupants on non-renewable direct fuel combustion through the use of fossil fuel-driven privately-owned electricity generators for electricity supply as a result of the inadequate supply from the national grid. In addition to the relatively high operational energy intensity observed in the studied buildings, the findings have implications for the safety, health and wellbeing of the building occupants as well as for carbon emissions from the buildings and for overall environmental sustainability. Recommendations to increase renewable energy use in new buildings and as retrofits in existing buildings were made. Article History: Received Oct 18, 2015; Received in revised form January 14, 2016; Accepted January 30, 2016; Available online How to Cite This Article: Ezema, I.C., Olotuah, A.O., and Fagbenle, O.I, S. (2016) Evaluation of Energy Use in Public Housing in Lagos, Nigeria: Prospects for Renewable Energy Sources. Int. Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 5(1),15-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.14710/ijred.5.1.15-2

Assessing Users’ Perceptions of the Current Maintenance Disorder of Public Secondary School in Ogun, Nigeria

The challenges facing public schools are multifaceted and include: teachers dissatisfaction, non-commitment of educators, chronic absenteeism by educators, low morale, poor work ethics by educators, late coming of both educators and learners, overcrowding in classes, lack of technical resources and many more. A cursory investigation of public secondary school buildings in Ado-Odo/Ota L.G.A shows its deplorable conditions of structural, aesthetical and decorative disrepair. Therefore the paper focused on examining users “perception of the present deplorable physical condition and neglect of public secondary school. The study engaged the use of quantitative method of analysis, employing the use of questionnaire administered randomly and distributed face-to-face to targeted despondences”. The result of findings revealed performance/productivity of building users depends largely on working and learning condition of building. The outcomes of the research would help policy makers, facilities maintenance experts and professionals alike to device a policy for regular maintenance of public building in other to enhance performance and increase productivity amongst users

MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL BUILDINGS: USERS’ PRACTICES IN NIGERIA

The sustainability of infrastructure in public secondary schools in Nigeria requires an attention. One of the ways to attain this is the adoption of maintenance strategies and policies. The application of maintenance strategies among various users demands urgency for policy formation. The study examined the secondary school building conditions and users of opinion in Nigeria. The study data were collected through questionnaire administered on the users of in the study area. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistical tool. The study found out that there are maintenance attempts by the school principals in one way or the other. None of the selected school has a maintenance manual and definite strategy. Also the users’ attitudes and lack of maintenance funds are major factors to the dilapidated condition of the secondary school buildings. The study recommends a need for more governance support, development of policy and users’ awareness on the essence of maintenance as a practice in Nigeri

SURVEY DATASET OF BUILDING USER-PERCEPTIONS ON THE CONDITION OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN OGUN STATE NIGERIA

In this data article, questionnaire was administered to public secondary school teachers to investigate user-perceptions of the prevailing deterioration condition of the school buildings, in Ogun State, Nigeria. The condition of some factors such as, roof, paints, floor, walls, windows, doors, electrical, plumbing, toilets, WC, pipes, drains were the investigated variables. The data presented here are the opinion of the respondents. Through this research, it was discovered that most of the academic building of public secondary school of our study area were not properly managed and poorly maintained as a result of insufficient fund for maintenance and lack of maintenance cultur

Promoting sustainable tourism through landscape architecture in developing countries: Case study of Nigeria

The benefits associated with recreation and tourism is widely acknowledged, which is especially the case when the effects on stress and the enhancing impact on well-being and productivity are considered. This is why society strives to facilitate places of recreation and tourism, some of which are natural and others man-made features commonly referred to as landscapes. Landscaping is generally used to engineer and boost tourism by many countries, as it adds to the natural beauty and scenery of the physical environment. However, tourism and recreation are often underdeveloped in many developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa despite being endowed with rich natural and scenic landscapes. The paper reports findings from an on-going research on developing sustainable landscape and tourism in Nigeria. The research methodology employed in this study included relevant literature search, oral interviews and visits to selected tourist attractions and urban centers in Nigeria to ascertain the level of landscape development and attendant tourist infrastructures. The paper discusses the importance and value of landscape as a tourist attraction in the urban environment, and recommends ways in which landscaping can enhance the urban physical environment and boost tourism

Estimating Embodied Energy in Residential Buildings in a Nigerian Context

The housing sector in Nigeria is characterized by huge deficits coupled with un-innovative construction methods. Previous studies indicate a strong relationship between construction materials and techniques on the one hand and embodied energy on the other. Also, studies on construction innovation in Nigeria have focused on its economic and financial benefits while playing down the environmental implications. This paper examined the environmental implications of residential building construction in a Nigerian context using embodied energy as an index of measurement with a view to identifying areas that could benefit from innovative strategies. Primary data for the study were obtained from survey research complemented by observation and interviews. For the embodied energy estimation, the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework and international energy protocols were adopted for the study. The study found that opportunities for embodied energy mitigation exist mostly in the building frame and walls as well as in the recurring embodied energy component. In other to achieve substantial reduction in the embodied energy intensity, substitution of conventional building materials with low energy and durable materials as well as adoption of innovative construction methods were recommended. Keywords: Embodied energy, Life cycle assessment, Materials substitution, Lagos, Nigeria, Residential building