Patterns of User-Initiated Transformation of Dwelling Units in Selected Public Housing Estates in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined User-Initiated Transformation (UIT) in selected low-income public housing estates in Lagos, Nigeria with a view to providing information that could assist policy makers in more effective housing delivery. It employed a systematic sampling method to select 315 housing units out of 8938 units from 3 purposively selected estates for questionnaire administration, namely: Abesan (156 units), Isolo (128 units) and Iponri estates (31 units). The findings showed that 79.0% (233 out of 295 retrieved questionnaires) of respondents have transformed their houses one way or the other. The majority of residents (78.40%) engaged in transformation by slight adjustment, such as: painting, re-tiling, and installation of shading devices, burglar proof to openings, and fixtures and fittings. It was also observed that 5.28% transformed by addition of more spaces, 1.42 % by addition of doors and windows, 13.21% by addition of services, and 1.68% by total conversion; but there was no indication of transformation by total reconstruction. The study found that 48.3% and 76.0 % of the respondents were not satisfied with the original plan and level of adequacy of spaces of their houses respectively. These findings implied that the predominant patterns of UIT of dwelling units in the study area were due mainly to residents’ dissatisfaction with the level of adequacy of spaces, and with the original plan. The study concluded that greater attention needs to be given to users’ preferences through their participation in the decision-making process relating to the design and delivery of public housing.

Keywords: dwelling units, physical transformation, user-initiated transformation (UIT), public housing, Lagos.