RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study aimed at examined residents’ perception of green infrastructure delivery in Abeokuta, Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti in Southwester Nigeria. Data for the study were from primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected through physical observation and questionnaires applied to residents. Using multistage sampling, Abeokuta, Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti were stratified into three developmental zones (core, transition and suburban) followed by identification of residential areas in the zones. Thus, 199, 179 and 115 residential buildings were sampled across the developmental zones of Abeokuta, Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti respectively where respondents were selected to arrive at 493 residents that formed the sample size for the study. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings (58.3% of the residents) revealed that the government was the major provider of green infrastructure in the three cities and the condition of green infrastructure was just fair with Relative Condition Index (RCI) of 2.63 and the RCI varied across the cities. It was also discovered that residents made use of green infrastructure for different purposes across the cities. Findings further revealed that the residents’ places high level of importance on green infrastructure with Relative Importance Index (RII) of 3.06, but the level of satisfaction they derived was low with Relative Satisfaction Index (RSI) of 2.93 with lower RSI attributable to several green infrastructures. The factors found to influence residents’ perception were socioeconomic characteristics (R2 = 0.299) and condition of green infrastructure (R2 = 0.072). This study concluded that there was less residents’ level of satisfaction with green infrastructure compared with the level of importance they attached to
them. Moreover, the residents’ perception of green infrastructure was influenced by their socioeconomic characteristics and condition of green infrastructure in the study area.