Socio-Economic Characteristics and Its Effect on Housing and Environmental Conditions: A Case Study of Durumi Informal Settlement Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Informal settlements in developing countries was as a results of housing shortage and policies failure on the part of governments. This study looked at the effect of socio-economic characteristics on housing and environmental conditions in Durumi informal settlement in Nigeria Federal Capital Territory (FCT) (Abuja). The study embraced both primary and secondary source of data, and sample size was 290 while sample frame was 1052 translating to 27.5%. Simple random was adopted for the research technique and procedures. The socioeconomic variables considered were marital status, length of stay in the community and educational qualification. The data collected were analysed by chi square, step wise regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The stepwise regression results revealed that marital status and length of stay in the community had significant indirect and direct influence on the housing conditions of Durumi residents at t-value = -3.076 (p<0.05) and 2.177 (p<0.05) respectively. The study concluded that, governments should make conscious effort focusing on provision of decent housing for the poor at an affordable rate. This can be achieved through different means such as site and services and compressive housing development.