Town Planners Seek Affordable Housing, Integrated City Development

The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter, has referred to as for built-in city planning, inexpensive housing insurance policies and stronger environmental safety as a part of efforts to handle Nigeria’s housing deficit.

The name fashioned a part of actions marking Urban October 2026, throughout which the institute organised an advocacy Citywalk in Abuja to advertise inclusive communities, satisfactory housing and sustainable city improvement.

The occasion, held on Saturday, started on the Old Parade Ground, Area 10, Garki, Abuja, and centered on the United Nations’ World Habitat Day theme, “Adequate Housing for All.”

Speaking throughout the train, Tpl. Gabriel Ameh, a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners and First Vice Chairman of the institute, mentioned the Citywalk was designed to lift public consciousness about sustainable improvement, the housing disaster and the necessity to defend the setting.

“This is not just an FCT event. This is a global event from UN-Habitat, where we are supposed to be creating awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ameh mentioned.

He defined that the marketing campaign was supposed to attract consideration to the duties of people, communities and authorities in creating sustainable neighbourhoods and making certain entry to respectable housing.

According to him, satisfactory housing goes past offering a roof over individuals’s heads to guaranteeing consolation, performance and a wholesome setting.

“Adequate housing is not just where anyone is having shelter over their head, but a sustainable shelter where you can live comfortably. People under the bridge have shelter, but housing is where you have your comfort and can do other things,” he mentioned.

Ameh maintained that Nigeria might make progress in direction of making certain that each citizen had a cushty residence, however pressured that reaching the purpose required stronger collaboration between the federal government, non-public sector and people.

He warned that housing supply with out correct planning might worsen city challenges, arguing that sustainability should be thought-about within the design and improvement of residential areas.

“You cannot achieve adequate housing without planning, and you cannot achieve affordable, sustainable housing if your design or plan is not sustainable,” he mentioned.

The city planner famous that housing was not restricted to buildings, including that inexperienced areas, the encompassing setting, air high quality and the performance of buildings had been important parts of a good dwelling setting.

He additionally recognized human behaviour and the failure of residents to embrace environmental sustainability as main obstacles to orderly city improvement.

“The government can’t do it alone. Each and every one of us has to play a critical role to make sure that we overcome this menace in our society,” Ameh mentioned.

On the housing deficit, he mentioned governments in any respect ranges wanted to prioritise inexpensive housing, notably by initiatives that would profit low-income earners and residents of rural and underserved communities.

He argued that native governments might contribute by supporting the development of inexpensive, correctly deliberate properties as an alternative of concentrating solely on costly, large-scale developments.

Ameh additional recognized the failure to cultivate the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law throughout all states and the politicisation of grasp plans as main setbacks to efficient city improvement.

“One of the biggest mistakes we have made is not domesticating the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law in all states of the federation,” he mentioned.

He added that governments wanted to deal with grasp plans as important devices of improvement reasonably than political paperwork that may very well be disregarded or altered with out regard for long-term city wants.

“We keep playing politics with issues of master plans, and this is something we need to imbibe and make part of us,” he mentioned.

Similarly, Tpl. Lami Ayuba, quick previous chairman of the NITP in Abuja and a fellow of the institute, referred to as for a complete housing technique that integrates bodily planning, dependable information, infrastructure and entry to inexpensive mortgage amenities.

Ayuba mentioned satisfactory housing ought to be sure that each Nigerian had entry to a good and sustainable neighbourhood geared up with fundamental infrastructure and amenities.

“Adequate housing means that every person should be accommodated in a decent neighbourhood, in a sustainable neighbourhood with basic infrastructure and facilities that are comfortable and affordable,” she mentioned.

She expressed concern that low-income earners and members of the center class confronted difficulties accessing respectable properties due to inconsistent housing insurance policies, restricted entry to credit score and mortgage preparations that didn’t adequately replicate their revenue ranges.

Ayuba mentioned the shortage of dependable housing and migration information additionally undermined the flexibility of authorities to plan for the rising inhabitants of the FCT.

She subsequently advocated the institution of a Housing Secretariat within the territory to coordinate housing wants, acquire related information and develop projections for future demand.

“I have advocated that they should have a Housing Secretariat, just like they have youth and women secretariats, where housing should be planned and projected, and where data for housing needs is collected and projected,” she mentioned.

According to her, such an workplace would assist authorities decide the variety of households being created yearly, the housing wants of recent residents and the variety of properties required to accommodate the territory’s increasing inhabitants.

Ayuba additionally referred to as for higher coordination between housing supply and concrete planning, arguing that setting up homes with out correctly deliberate cities, residential zones and infrastructure wouldn’t present a sustainable answer.

“Government should make planning part of the major key strategies and policies for housing delivery. It is not just the Ministry of Housing, and it is not just to say we are going to build 1,000 houses,” she mentioned.

She added that integrating planning with housing insurance policies would assist governments develop new cities, set up residential districts and supply clear course for city enlargement.

Meanwhile, Niina Rinne, Chief Technical Adviser and Head of the UN-Habitat Nigeria Country Office, referred to as for environmental safety to be prioritised in city planning, notably in efforts to stop flooding and protect inexperienced areas.

Rinne mentioned protected areas ought to be clearly recognized in improvement plans and that pure and semi-natural areas ought to be related to create a community of inexperienced areas throughout cities.

She urged city planners and authorities to respect pure ecosystems earlier than deciding the place to find housing, infrastructure and different developments.

“We need to respect nature, and we need to put nature first, and then see where we can actually build houses and other services,” she mentioned.