A Methodology for Housing Stock Assessment Applied to Land Use Planning in the Niger Delta Nigeria: The Bonny Town Case Study

Abstract

A methodology of housing stock evaluation based on stratified random sampling of geographic grid squares is used to examine the demand for housing in Bonny Town, an ancient coastal settlement which dates from the 15th century. Demand for housing and, subsequently, land for housing development, is derived from a simple extrapolation of present estimates of population growth rates similar to the rates officially employed by Nigeria in national planning. Ultimately, land required for domestic housing is a forecast for the rest of the present century. The process adopted for this matching of stock and demand has generated data such as total number of households, number of persons per household as well as a categorization of housing types in Bonny which typifies human settlements in the estuarine and coastal zone area of the Niger Delta Nigeria. A basic planning methodology is introduced for practice at levels below which conventional land use decisions are made in Nigeria. The capacity of the methodology of multi-subject application would make it useful for the planning of land, water resources, energy and other infrastructure which tend to constrain economic development in the third world.