Determinants and Pattern of Single Family Housing Estates in Port Harcourt Metropolitan Fringe Areas

Abstract

This article examines the determinants and pattern of single family housing estates in Port Harcourt fringe areas. The data obtained for the study includes the design, ownership structure and infrastructural facilities of the single family housing estates, property characteristics and residential mobility, reasons for preferring housing areas at the current metropolitan fringe areas of Port Harcourt and satisfaction level of housing located outside the city centre. Other data includes the List of single family housing estates in the current Port Harcourt Metropolitan fringe areas (both private and government) and the aggregate population of the two local government areas making up the metropolitan fringe area. The article showed changing residential location preference.  Almost all of the households left the prestige districts and opportunity of being close to city center and preferred living at the periphery of the city. Findings of the study indicate that forefront pull factors are desire to ‘live in a detached house with a private garden’, ‘being close to natural amenities and large green open spaces’, and push factors ‘deteriorated environmental quality’ and ‘traffic congestion in the city center’. There is therefore the urgent need to establish single family housing estates and integrate them within the overall urban master plan. In cases where there are no master plans, relevant governments should ensure that master plans are prepared so as to foster orderly development. The government should equally ensure that majority of the single family housing estates at the fringe areas be built by major building firms in order to achieve the best desired result in terms of size, design, quality of construction and maintenance and adherence to urban planning regulations.

Keywords: Determinant, Pattern, Single family housing estates, Fringe area