Perception and Conditions of the Urban Poor in Greater Karu Urban Area (GKUA) Nasarawa, Nigeria

Abstract

Unprecedented urbanization, rapid population and urban growth have resulted in competing demands and over stretching of available social amenities, infrastructure and housing by the poor in Greater Karu Urban Area (GKUA). This paper examined the perception and conditions of the urban poor in GKUA with a view to make recommendations to ameliorate the conditions that the poor live in. . Data used for this study was acquired mainly from primary sources. Satellite image captured from Google earth in 2014 covering GKUA provided an overview of the nature and density of housing developments while residential areas were demarcated based on housing density and income of the residents to include; low, medium and high density areas. A 10% sample of houses was selected from each density area using stratified random sampling giving a total of 490 houses which were used for the survey. About 69% of the respondents agree that urban poverty is a very severe challenge in GKUA. They perceive that the absence and poor infrastructure, insecurity and lack of safety, poor housing condition, overcrowding and housing congestion, high cost of housing/rent, high cost of living, low and irregular income, unemployment and under employment, poor and high cost of access of facilities especially in the high density neighbourhoods, interplayed to increase urban poverty in GKUA. More than 29% of the respondents are very dissatisfied with the poverty condition condition, 20% are dissatisfied while only 19% are satisfied. Several coping strategies adopted by the respondents for survival are short term and not sustainable. Recommendations that have varying urban and regional planning implications are directed at sustainable alleviation of urban poverty and improvement of living conditions of the city dwellers.