Assessing the Sustainability of Urban Growth: A Study on Abuja City, Nigeria

Abstract

Recent urbanization in Africa has been uneven and diversified, characterized by rapid urban expansion, informal settlements, limited access to basic resources, and environmental challenges. Cities in Nigeria have witnessed significant urban expansion. Abuja, a rapidly growing metropolitan city, is exposed to long-term sustainability risks, including waste management problems, environmental degradation, and others. This paper aims to examine the urban structure of Abuja city and explore people’s perceptions of basic living facilities in the city, such as access to safe water, reasonable public transport, affordable housing, lower food prices, and others. A mixed-method research approach has been employed in this study. The reason for adopting a mixed-method approach is that quantitative analysis provides insights into Abuja’s land-use growth rate, built-up land per capita, population growth rate, and people’s access to public places. This information helps to identify key city characteristics and to select themes and organize questions for narrative interviews, which aim to better understand people’s perceptions of Abuja’s sustainability in terms of accessibility to open public spaces, access to safe water, affordable public transportation costs and housing rent, and a sustainable environment. Although Abuja has a high allocation of public open space, financial vulnerability is a major factor that discourages people from frequently visiting these spaces. Moreover, land-use growth in Abuja exceeds pollution control capacity, resulting in unsustainable urban sprawl and increasing strain on resources. Due to inadequate planning and infrastructure implementation, the city lacks the capacity to provide basic necessities to its residents, such as safe water, a sustainable environment, affordable housing, and reasonable public transportation fares.