Liveability Status Of High Density Enugu State Housing Development Corporation Estates In Enugu Capital Territory Nigeria

Abstract

The study is an assessment of the liveability status of high-density housing in Enugu Capital Territory, Southeast Nigeria. Housing is universally accepted as the second most important need of humanity after food. It is more than a mere shelter, as it embraces all the social services, utilities and physical infrastructure that support the quality of life of inhabitants in the settlement. However, the liveability status of many high-density housing estates in the Enugu urban centre appears to be below global standards and devoid of basic supportive infrastructure and healthy environments. Also, the public housing delivery in Enugu Capital Territory is occasioned by the urgency to provide shelters to cater for rapid urban population growth without adequate planning for the housing environment and supportive infrastructure in place for cohesive communal life. The apparent ad-hoc approach to the implementation of housing programmes has thus affected the liveability status of many high-density housing. The paper discusses urban liveability and liveability indicators to assess the environment and the supportive infrastructure as they affect the quality of life of the residents and other users. The urban liveability in this context is limited to a comparative assessment of the housing environment and the supportive infrastructure as they affect the quality of residents of high-density housing in Enugu Capital Territory with the basic global standards. To this end, the study aims to assess the liveability status of three randomly selected high-density housing estates in the city: Riverside Housing, EHCOL (Brick) Housing and Maryland Housing, using the global ranking tool Better Life Index (BLI). Finally, the paper seeks to shed more light on public housing planning for a sustainable environment and supportive infrastructure for enhancing the liveability of high-density housing estates in Enugu Capital Territory, Nigeria.