Residents’ Perception of Urban Renewal Project Implementation in Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the residents’ perception of urban renewal projects in Akure, Nigeria. This was with a view to providing guidelines that could enhance public participation in urban renewal projects. Primary data were collected from residents in urban renewal project areas in Akure, Nigeria. Systematic sampling technique was used in selecting residents to be sampled. The first building was chosen randomly. The subsequent unit of investigation was every 20th residential building in each ward, representing 5% of all residential buildings in the selected wards of the study area. A total of 508 questionnaires were administered out of which 498 were retrieved and analyzed. The study revealed that almost all the residents have acquired formal education with the majority (65.1%) claiming to have tertiary education. The findings revealed that the majority (67.3%) of the respondents earned N 20,001 and above The regression analysis computed to validate the relevance of residents’ perception on urban renewal projects success and socioeconomic attributes of residents in the study area show a positive significant relationship of 89.1%. This implies that residents’ socioeconomic level could determine their perception on the urban renewal projects as examined in the study. The study concluded that information obtained from the residents on their perception of urban renewal projects implemented could be effective tools in the hand of policy makers at ensuring that renewal projects can be successfully executed and adequately sustained.