AN EVALUATION OF URBAN DEGENERATION IN ABA CORE AREA AND A PHYSICAL PLANNING PROPOSAL FOR A SELECTED AREA

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Department of Environmental Design

ABSTRACT
Urban degeneration is a phenomenon of great concern both in the Third World and the Industrial Nations. It is found almost in all cities in Nigeria. It is determined by using many indicators as were applied for Aba Core Area. The ultimate end of the exercise is to find a renewal approach that is most suited to the problem and apply it appropriately. For this study, methods of data collection involved use of questionnaires, informant interviews, and oral discussions. Relevant literature were also consulted. The Rough Screening Technique was used for Aba Urban. This was later combined with the Weight and Exponent Method for application to the study area, - Aba Core Area divided into five zones. The techniques revealed that zone three had the greatest problem and hence was selected for detailed planning proposals. Since the levels of degeneration were different in the various zones, all the five zones in the core area as well as the remaining sectors of Aba-Eziukwu, Ndiegoro, Umungasi/Umuocham and Ogbor Hill sectors received various types of treatment. An occupancy rate of 3.35 persons per habitable room was found in the study area. This high rate was attributed to two things: the low income of a majority of the residents and the growing number of Flats which the low income group cannot afford thus reducing the housing supply for them. One of the proposals was the design of a residential neighborhood that will be able to house 5,000 people. In order to accommodate the excess population revealed by the study, it was recommended that similar allocation exercises be carried out at the various entrances into the urban area using the prototype design as a guide. Cost of implementation of the whole scheme was estimated at N43.27 million, spread over three phases from 1991 to 1999.