This chapter outlines the epoch of urban planning evolution in Nigeria. It highlights and describes the nature of urban planning, the roles of planners, urban planning challenges, and prospects of urban planning in Nigeria. Urban planning in Nigeria evolved before colonialism. As the country transited from the colonial era to Independence, urban planning also went through significant transformation. It became an essential tool to facilitate orderly spatial arrangement of the various land uses with emphasis on promoting functional relationships among the various land uses so as to ensure harmony in the development of the built environment. This is considered a common good due to its importance for economic and socio-cultural development. The method of investigation is essentially an analysis of secondary data obtained from published journal articles and reports. Over the past years, urban planning has evolved as a discipline and an institutionalised profession. It has witnessed the enactment of many planning laws. However, the contention in this chapter is that, even with the presence of well-formulated urban planning, its future is far from bright. Urban planning in Nigeria lacks commitment from the government.

Urbanisation remains a topical discussion across the globe. According to the United Nations (2022), 68% of the world's population will be absorbed in urban areas by 2050. The envisaged rapid urbanisation in cities by 2050 is believed to be accompanied by various planning problems, which include accelerated climate change, urban slums, urban sprawl, poor sanitation, inadequate infrastructure, overcrowding, housing deficiency and transportation issues. To mitigate these planning problems, the role of effective urban planning cannot be overemphasised. Urban planning provides a pathway for overcoming the various challenges posed by urbanisation both in the present and in the future. Urban planning is the process of guiding and directing land use for physical development to ensure a high quality of life and well-being of residents through the improvement of infrastructures and facilities, optimal economic development, and efficient operations and services (Bibri, 2018). Also, urban planning plays a significant role in actualising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11, which seeks to make human settlement inclusive and sustainable (RELX, 2024). This implies that with efficient urban planning, access to a high quality of life for all city dwellers can be ensured amidst the present and forecast rapid urbanisation that would be experienced by cities of the world. Planning as an ancient, multi-sectoral, and multidisciplinary discipline that is focused on the sustainable functioning and arrangement of space cannot be over-emphasized. As a discipline that is influenced by human habits, actions, policies and professional practices, planning (whether traditional or modern) is perceptual and suggests the role of humans in shaping settlements. Recognising this, the writing of Jagannath (2019) drawing on Clarence Perry neighbourhood ideology suggests that the need for planning is to be considered along a micro-level. The liveability of workplace and place of resident emerged from the view that NP was both a response to placelessness (along the micro planning unit of space) and response to the degenerated social and environmental conditions that emerged out of the industrial revolution. Neighbourhood planning according to Parker (2012) allows for a community based radical strategy to emerging spatial problem. The writer documented that neighbourhood planning provides a room for the merging of formal (government and agencies) ideas with the local or informal (community resident), such that a cooperation is able to achieve an inclusive neighbourhood defined solution to identified problems. Recognising this, Bradley (2018) wrote that where development policy may privilege the supposed objectivity of technocratic rationalism, participation brings other ways of knowing and different types of evidence and methods of evidence gathering to the understanding of place (p.2). He further wrote that participatory planning practice has been seen as a touchstone for the ability of technocratic knowledge to accommodate lay perspectives of lived space. The incorporation of place-based knowledge in development planning becomes integral to the epistemology through which abstract space is produced (p.24). In this special issue, the diverse nature of planning (with focus on urban and neighbourhoods) and environmental problems were addressed. The authors in the special issue provided a multi- and interdisciplinary approach to understanding planning and in fact neighbourhood planning as a tool to managing and achieving liveability amidst rapid urbanisation. In this special issue, from the twenty-one submissions and proposals, only thirteen were considered for publication. All the manuscript underwent a two expert blind review, plagiarism check and editorial reviews. The focus on the articles accepted for publication drew on local context to planning and responding wicked problems within local areas and the process of adopting immediate built-environment principles as captured in neighbourhood planning to managing these challenges that limits communal liveability. The importance of local context and ‘neighbourhood-ness’ of research draws on the position of Lee et al. (2022), that neighbourhood planning remains an under-utilised ideology, approach, and process of achieving community liveability. This issue, as presented in the section below, provides a critical eye and/or perception on the inter- and multidisciplinary prisms of neighbourhood planning as a sustainable approach to achieving liveable communities.

The gap between disaster occurrence and precaution is always filled with casualties. Studies on flood resilience in Kebbi state, Nigeria thus far underplayed community participation as a means of building urban flood resilience in urban areas. This chapter examined the level of participation of urban communities in flood risk reduction and management process in Kebbi state and assessed the degree to which the risk communities were actively engaged in identifying and monitoring flood disaster risks. Data were sourced through primary and secondary means but more secondary. Four hundred victims of past flood disasters were interviewed on their experiences during and after the flood and their participation in recovery measures. Findings revealed that 85.5% of the victims considered the recovery items given to them inadequate and indiscriminately distributed and the non-participation of the public in the processes. It is recommended that governments should ensure the full participation of communities in flood risk disasters to enhance their capacities for resilience.

This article examines the nature and causes of liveability challenges faced by the residents of Kabawa, an informal community south-east of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria, and points out solutions to the identified problems. Liveability concepts were adopted, while both primary and secondary data were used. The research instruments used included a structured questionnaire, an observation checklist, and a housing facility survey. A total of 180 household heads/ respondents were randomly selected for the study. The study establishes that the community exhibited slum characteristics, including poor housing conditions, filthy environment, poor sanitation, indiscriminate waste disposal, and acute lack of basic infrastructure. Illiteracy, poverty, poor maintenance of the available facilities, and lack of participation in governance are common challenges reported by residents. The study recommends improved planning and partnership between government and other community development stakeholders towards achieving improved liveability through participatory, community-centred development and a financial framework.

Waste pickers are ubiquitous in major cities and involved in sorting, reusing, recycling, and sales of recyclables. Waste picking serves as a source of livelihood and helps where the formal sector is encumbered with municipal waste management. This study focuses on waste picking and pickers’ views on the effects of households’ separation of solid wastes on their jobs. An intercept survey was conducted amongst 65 waste pickers in Ibadan metropolis. Data were analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics. Most waste pickers were males (92.3%) and single (53.8%) and 61.5% faced repression from law enforcement agents. Although aware of the benefits of source separating solid waste, 61.5% of respondents were not in support of the government making it mandatory, fearing that their income would suffer. The study recommends integrating waste pickers into the city’s waste management plan. This would improve the livelihood of waste pickers and ensure a sustainable and clean environment.

The characteristic unorthodox method of e-waste handling by waste scavengers exposes them to a range of hazardous substances that makes them susceptible to ill-health. However, awareness of the health risks associated with e-waste picking by the scavengers is imperative for their continued survival in the waste business. This paper examined the e-waste scavengers' awareness of the health risks associated with e-waste picking in Lagos, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was used to assess the health risk awareness of e-waste scavengers in three landfills in the city. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 210 e-waste scavengers selected from the landfills. A five-point Likert Scale was used to measure the scavengers' awareness while descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Multinomial Logistic Regression) were used to establish the effects of awareness on their preventive measures. The study revealed low awareness of the health risks associated with e-waste picking among the e-waste scavengers. The results of the logistic regression analysis confirmed the hypothesis that awareness of health risks influences the preventive measures by the scavengers. Raising awareness among the scavengers on the health hazards of e-waste, the use of personal protective equipment and seeking of modern healthcare during illness are recommended.

Extreme weather events pose a serious threat to subsistence farming and food security in Upper Guinea, where most farmers rely heavily on rain-fed agriculture. Following crop failures, farmers use what is available to them to try to maintain household food security. This paper investigated the coping strategies chosen by farmers in Upper Guinea and the motivating factors behind them. A multistage sampling method was used to select a purposive random sample of 1,500 farm households within nine selected livelihood zones (Bassando, Dion-Niandan Inter-River, Fié basin, Foutanian Piémont, Kolokalan High Valley, Middle Plateau, Solima's High Plateau, Soudanese Plateau and Woulada plateau) of Upper Guinea affected by extreme weather events. Approaches including household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and field observations were used to collect data. The multivariate probit regression (MVP) model was used to identify factors influencing small-scale farmers’ choice of coping strategies during periods of extreme weather events. Results from the MVP model showed that differences in the perception of risk factors and socioeconomic characteristics of farm households determined these choices. The main factors motivating farmers’ choice of coping strategies were awareness of extreme weather events, gender, the experience of crop failures, and ownership of assets. Other factors such as age, farming experience, household size, and educational level, were also determinants of farmers’ choice of coping strategies. Local institutional support to farmers that could drive widespread adoption of climate-smart agriculture could improve livelihood production and community resilience in this region.

Identifying appropriate climate policy interventions that improve the resilience of Guinea Savanna farming systems to extreme weather conditions is crucial to reducing food insecurity and poverty. This study explored rural farming households’ encountered adaptation barriers and strategies used toward climate change. Participatory research tools and methods were used to collect data, including household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observations. A multistage sampling procedure was employed in selecting 1,500 respondents in nine livelihood zones prone to drought and floods. Problem confrontation index (PCI) and relative importance index (RII) estimations were used to rank small-scale farmers’ climate adaptation barriers and strategies. Results showed that key barriers to successful climate change adaptation practices included limited access to farm inputs (PCI = 3203), poor access to agricultural machinery (PCI = 3161), and shortage of farm labour and its high cost (PCI = 3026), while the most prioritized adaptation strategies were crop diversification (RII = 0.59), planting early maturing crop varieties (RII = 0.47), and changing the timing of planting (RII = 0.42). This study provides decision-makers insights into farmers’ most adaptation barriers and prioritized strategies toward climate change to design effective and context-specific policies that aim to improve farming resilience to the adverse effects of changing climate.

The study assesses the impact of the last major flood disaster in Ibadan on the vulnerable groups (the poor, elderly, children and physically challenged). It investigates how vulnerable HHs have responded to post-disaster events. The study finds that HHs from 56% of the affected buildings suffered temporary displacement and 207 (7.4%) of the affected buildings were abandoned with Ibadan South-West LGA recording the highest cases of abandonment (23%). There exists a positive correlation between income and period of displacement (r=0.26) and a significant difference in the period of displacement across income groups. The study reveals disparities in access to relief/recovery items among the flood-affected populations. Urban dwellers had better access to relief packages than rural dwellers.

The world is increasingly characterised by uncertainty, complexity and rapid change while vulnerability to potential disasters is equally increasing. The situation is more dire in countries where governments are unable to manage land use and development in rapidly growing towns and cities. Lagos, a major city in Nigeria, is notorious for flooding, owing to its being lowland, and this is compounded by inadequate planning and uncoordinated physical development. A systematic study of urban expansion in Lagos was done using Landsat ETM, OLI and Google Earth imageries for 2000, 2013 and 2019 to analyse land use and land cover change, and pattern of encroachment of physical development into vegetation cover and flood plains in Lagos. The comparison of the three Land Use Land Cover Change (LU/LC) schemes, indicates that built-up areas accounted for about 50.0% of land use in Lagos in 2019. The increase is almost thrice the extent recorded in the year 2000. As the pace of growth quickens, new structures deplete vegetation and fuels lateral expansion into marginal land. Adherence to land use planning regulation, vertical expansion and flood-plain-buy-back were recommended as strategies to mitigate flood risk.

The increased frequency and magnitude of climate-induced disasters are a huge setback for the world’s economic growth and performance. Addressing such risks has long time motivated many governments to set up disaster-based management strategies, policies, and plans to strengthen their resilience. However, the implementation of such initiatives remains challenging in developing countries due to their specific internal development issues that require timely performance appraisals to offer suitable remedial actions. This motivated the present study to use the Risk Management Index (RMI), to measure Guinea’s risk management performance and effectiveness, focusing on its institutional progress and challenges encountered in building climate-induced disasters’ resilience in Guinea Savanna communities. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with local authorities responsible for implementing prevention measures and emergency responses to disasters in Guinea Savanna, as well as inputs from academia with activities related to disaster risk management, combined with documentary research and field observations. Analyses of the RMI showed very limited progress in risk identification (RMIRI = 0.672 – 1.00), while almost no significant progress was made in financial provision (RMIFP = 0.124 – 0.487). On the contrary, policies of disaster management (RMIDM = 0.600 – 1.934) and Risk Reduction (RMIRR = 0.791 -1.606) have shown incipient progress. While all public policies need to be improved, urgent actions are needed in financial provision and risk identification policies. Therefore, the study suggests that local authorities should be more committed to risk identification and risk financing approaches to address the priority needs for effective disaster risk management in Guinea Savanna communities.

The ability to respond to the need for food is threatened by the scarcity of urban farmers (UF) in the elevation of the urban population. This shows that the availability of food is a cultivated land function, indicating that agriculture is only a mirage when sites are unavailable for farming. Irrespective of these conditions, the sustainability of food production within the city spaces is still the complimentary urban infrastructure enhancing the movement of goods and farmers. Therefore, this study aims to determine the patterns of integrating urban farming into city infrastructure development. In this case, a mixed methods approach was used, with a sample of 236 UF obtained across five local government areas (LGA) of Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria, due to the land availability that ranked first in the urban agriculture (UA) location within the city. Based on interviews with selected farmers and literature reviews, many UF preferred to have their farmlands located along the road for ease of mobility and access. The results showed that old age limited farming travel distance, with several cases of farm produce theft, subsequently detected. To solve these issues, land allocation and water infrastructure provision including irrigation kits were needed for the enhancement of UA and UF, respectively. In addition, comprehensive plans integrating UF infrastructure spaces were suggested.

AbstractThis study investigated rainfall variabilities in Kilembe. Secondary (monthly rainfall) data for the study were obtained from the Uganda National Meteorological Authority in Kampala, Uganda, for the period 1986–2016. To determine the temporal variation of rainfall, a Mann–Kendall method and Sen's slope estimator test were used. The results showed that March, April, May, October, and November represented the smallest coefficient of variation indicating modest variability of rainfall in these months, whereas June and July had the largest coefficient of variation. The month of July recorded an overall lowest average rainfall and a decreasing trend in rainfall. The study further revealed a historical general upward trend in rainfall between 1986 and 2016 in Kilembe. The trend in the monthly and annual rainfall is partly attributed to the Intertropical Convergence Zone, influx of moisture from Congo Forest, and climate change. The area recorded also two peaks of rainfall in the year, one in April and another in September, revealing a bimodal pattern of rainfall. The findings indicate that the government should adopt policy measures in the form of an adaptive strategy in order to save the people in the impacted areas.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Food is as old as humans and is so important to the existence and sustenance of humans and other living organisms that God created food before He created the eaters. There is a subtle interplay between food security and health, this nexus interplays from availability and assess to food, to healthy lifestyle. The paper focused on connection between food security and health with the view to identifying causes of food insecurity, its effects on health and the use of Moringa Oleifera and Chanca Piedra to solve the identified health challenges. METHODS: The respondents for this study were purposively selected within Bida, Nigeria. 50 respondents were randomly sampled for interview and questionnaire administration after using the two medicinal plants to improve nutrient level and ease discomforts like headaches, diabetes, kwashiorkor and menstrual pain. The research design used is Worldview approach, which is considered suitable for situation-specific agreements in the use of cultural information, when delineating between indigenous and academic requirements. The paper incorporates Indigenous Environmental Knowledge (IEK) to ensure more people benefit from community knowledge on flora uses that differ from the academic perception. RESULTS:The study revealed an improvement in users' health after administering the herbs. It also revealed that 78% of respondents attested to using Moringa for nutrient deficiency cases, with 4g dose, morning and evening for three months, however, 22% of respondents claimed it was not applicable to them. The study further revealed that 70% and 20% of respondents used Moringa and Chanca respectively at 5g dose morning and evening for twenty -four hours to relief migraine. CONCLUSIONS:The study recommended active citizen participation in planting Moringa and Chanca in individual homes, empty urban spaces as organised neighbourhood medicinal gardens under community self-help projects to enhance food security, improve the urbanscape, and advance the public planning issue. KEYWORDS: Chanca Piedra, Food security, Health, Moringa Oleifera, Public Planning

Background: Urban informal communities are characterized by lack of access to sanitation facilities, inefficient management of human waste and excessive use of fossil fuel as energy source. A bio-center (BC) provides improved public toilets and biogas energy from human waste generated in the community. The study identified available cooking energy sources in Kibera, examined the operations and challenges of BCs, and elicited residents' perception of BC systems and usage of biogas energy for cooking.Methods: Descriptive survey research design, using structured questionnaire, interview guide and personal observation as the primary instruments of data collection, was adopted. 6 (33.3%) of the 18 BCs in the 6 villages hosting functional BCs were randomly selected. Ethical protocols were followed and informed consents were obtained from respondents. A pretested structured questionnaire was administered to 394 (2.9%) household heads and a self-administered questionnaire was served on 15 (83.3%) bio-centre managers. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Results: 81.7% of respondents had no toilet in their houses; 31.6% used communal pit latrine, while 16.4% practiced wrap and throw. With BCs system in place, 61.4% households had access to biogas toilets, biogas and pour flush toilet (23.9%), biogas and communal pit latrine (14.0%). 70.8% households preferred biogas toilet over other systems. Daily toilet users averaged 176 per toilet and paid Ksh.5 per use. 53.3% of BCs produced biogas used by 58.9% of residents for cooking. Despite some challenges of maintenance and framework, user-respondents were very satisfied (39.3%), satisfied (41.2%), preferred biogas toilets (57.9%), and demanded for more BCs (86.4%). Conclusions: The BCs presented a preferred sanitation and renewable energy systems in the study community. With improvement in their management systems and public awareness, bio-centre facilities portend ample evidence for public policies and strategies to reduce energy poverty, generate income for community groups and mitigate climate change.

The findings from various research efforts have linked the incidence of different health issues to excessive noise pollution in all works of life. This study provides empirical analysis of the effects of noise pollution on the well-being of the residents of Bida Local Government Area, Niger State, Nigeria. The study adopted a case study research design, involving cross-sectional procedure. Field observations and medical reports were obtained to support the respondents' perception on the state of their well-being. The sample size for the study was selected using the housing stock in the various wards. One major street in each ward was selected. A total of 1,833 buildings were counted along the sampled streets and 10% of this was selected for the administration of structured questionnaire. The environmental quality of the wards was determined by measuring the noise level using Testo 815 noise meters. The result revealed that Bariki ward which houses the GRA has the lowest noise level of 37.8 dB(A)while the noise pollution levels recorded in the other thirteen wards were all above the recommended levels. The average ambient noise level in sawmills, commercial centres, road junctions and industrial areas were above 90 dB(A). The temporal record from the Federal Medical Centre, Bida revealed that, apart from malaria, hypertension (5,614 outpatients) was the most prevalent health issue in 2013 alone. The paper emphasised the need for compatibility consideration in the choice of residential location, the use of ear muffler and effective enforcement of zoning regulations. Key words: Noise, Environmental quality, Bida, Well-being, Decibels

Household solid wastes have varied quantity and composition in many urban centres. A waste audit was conducted among 250 volunteer households, in low, medium, and high residential densities at 50 households per Local Government Area in the Ibadan metropolis. Community sensitization was undertaken, followed by collection, weighing, and sorting of solid waste into over 40 categories. Analysis revealed the classes of waste to be organics 41.5%; plastics 21.4%; other waste 19.3%; Paper and paper board 8.4%; textile 3.4%; metal 2.7%; glass 1.9%; special care waste 0.7%, and construction and demolition waste; 0.7%. Waste generation rates were 0.17, 0.07 and 0.04kg/capita/day for low-, mediumand high-density areas respectively. About 41.8% of the waste was compostable, 37.9% recyclable, while 20.3% could be disposed of appropriately. Analysis revealed that a significant relationship exists between some socio-economic characteristics and percentage composition of waste, while religion and ethnicity of the respondents were not significant. It is recommended that households sort their waste from source to reduce the unusable quantity that would be disposed of at dumpsites.