Influence of Building Maintenance Practices on the Security of Lives and Property in Public Housing in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

The desire for security has continued to receive research attention globally. One of the critical aspects has been on how best to secure lives and property in residential neighbourhood in urban areas in the Global south. Although several approaches have been identified on how best to secure the home environment, less research attention has been given to the how maintenance practices can enhance security of lives and property in mass housing environments. This study investigated the influence of building maintenance practices on security of lives and property, using the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) housing estates as case study. Household survey involving 1036 residents in 14 housing estates was conducted in the study area using questionnaire as the data collection instrument. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and categorical regression analysis. The result shows that spaces and components of the buildings under the control of individuals and/or households were more frequently maintained than those jointly used spaces. The pruning of flowers and trees, replacement of damaged doors in the buildings and sweeping of open spaces emerged as the top three maintenance practices with the most significant influence on the residents’ perception of security of lives and property in the estates. The study implies that maintenance activities should be focused on these three aspects with more attention given to jointly owned and used spaces and facilities if security of lives and property is to be achieved in mass housing environments.

Identifying Design Trends in Mass Housing Development

“…The dynamism of territories in mass housing could generate positive and negative assets. In the case of defensible space, as discussed by Jegede et al (2018), effective design strategies and planning are potentially led towards neighbourhood security, providing positive value in return. On the contrary, the study by Borsuk and Eroglu (2020) discovered that peripheral mass housing in Turkey demonstrates the growth of market-based processes and financial assets at the expense of intangible assets of household relations and social capital.…”

“…In Italy, the focus is given to the theoretical aspect related to the minimum dwelling concept in Garbatella model housing by Kallis (2020), which also relates to the social concept as discussed by Rakonjac et al (2022) in the effect of lighting for open spaces activities in Croatia and identity crisis in North Cyprus as argued by (Sokienah, 2021). In terms of urban issues, Manahasa et al (2022) explained the heterogeneous context in housing typologies in Albania, followed by Antypenko and Benkő (2022) on functional diversification of large housing estate in Hungary, and Jegede et al (2018) on the practised of housing defensible space in Nigeria. Furthermore, in the aspect of project performance, in the case of Ghana, Kwofie et al (2022) examined communication performance in repetitive attributes projects.…”

“…This is evident in the context of peripheral mass housing complexes that act as the urban expansion catalyst and a spatial fix tool for marginal groups of slum dwellers and urban poor, which had resulted in the increasing of their distance towards employment opportunities, creating social isolation, imposing unaffordable housing provision, and generating incompatible style of living (Borsuk & Eroglu, 2020). On the other hand, it inflicts a high concentration of poverty and crime (Jegede et al, 2018), increasing social polarization, low energy efficiency and inequality in cities (Milovanović et al, 2022), and resulting in complex ownership situations and ongoing destruction (Shevchenko, 2022). In extending the standardized and functionalist mass housing approaches, there is an alternative attitude towards housing customization to empower the inhabitants' needs and desires.…”

“…This phenomenon allowed for user-centric approaches in mass housing, ensuring stronger coherence between household needs and the characteristics of their residential environment (Bunster & Bustamante, 2019). The fallacy of affordability and the cookie-cutter solution embedded within the current state of mass housing development are undeniable and led to negative stigma (Powell, 2021., Jegede et al, 2018. However, in developing countries, its significant impact in forming urban morphology of the suburban metropolises and facilitating housing shortage for the urban residents (Talebian & Özmen, 2019) indicates a strong motivation for further adaptation and innovation.…”

Evaluation of Sustainable Maintenance and Security of Green Spaces in Public Housing Schemes in Lagos State, Nigeria

“…Creating a territoriality that ensures a safe, productive and wellmaintained living space, where a potential criminal perceives such a space as controlled by its residents. This has been demonstrated in different studies globally such as [8]. In a study carried out in Tawan Melati resident area of Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia by Malathi and Mathi (2010) to test the effect of physical design on the occurrences of crime, found that merely providing housing (public housing) does not guarantee success of the housing development and policies or residential satisfaction.…”