Gentrification and Environmental Justice in Nigerian Cities

Gentrification is a process of urban revitalization by which the original inhabitants of an area are displaced, owing to the purchase and upgrading of their deteriorated properties by the middle or high income households. An aspect of gentrification that is of particular interest to Nigerians is the issue of displacement, with its attendant socio-economic alienation of the poor from the city, which has evoked some environmental justice concerns. Focusing on the city of Aba, this study examined gentrification and the environmental justice question in Nigerian cities. The study adopted survey research design, making use of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse gentrification. Cluster and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 158 displaced household heads of gentrified buildings across the various neighbourhoods in Aba, who were surveyed. Data collected were analyzed with appropriate parametric tests using SPSS. Findings show that about 698 households are displaced in the city every year due to gentrification, with an annual displacement rate of 7.5%. This gentrification induced displacements have been found to constitute significant environmental injustice to the low income city residents as it leads to their dislocation from kin, and communal heritages; forces them to move into substandard housing at the urban fringes; and constrains some to relocate to the rural areas, limiting their abilities to cope with life's challenges. The study therefore recommends among other things, that the Town Planning Authorities should create a platform to educate owners of rundown properties to adopt the model of market-led gentrification as presently practiced in Lagos city.