Significance of Socioeconomic Characteristics and Construction Strategies Adopted on Informal Low-Cost Housing in Abeokuta Nigeria

Literature have revealed that views on informal low-cost housing and informal housing had been contextually expressed rather than generalised. Underlying issues on their emergence have been largely viewed as problem and described as spontaneous, unplanned and uncoordinated development without necessarily complying with the planning and building regulations. Events have shown that government eviction strategies further fuel its proliferation in Abeokuta as in other cities. The paper investigates the significance of socio-economic characteristics of residents on informal low-cost housing development and its influence on construction strategy adopted in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were adopted in the selection of study area and dwellings respectively. Data collection were from literature and structured questionnaires from 384 stratified randomly selected respondents. Data obtained were analysed and discussed with descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson Product Correlation Matrix, and factor analysis with extraction method of principal component analysis for the testing of hypotheses, study objectives and identified variables. Findings shows that the emergence of informal low-cost housing was collectively driven by respondents age, average annual income, education, skill, occupation and employment status, preference for ownership of dwelling, location, type and status of the respondents former, and has imperfect significant relationship with the construction strategies adopted. The paper recommends inclusive intervention strategies that ensures the integration of informal low-cost housing towards increasing housing supply, without translocating existing residents, and conclude that socio-economic characteristics are vital factors in the formulation, implementation and performance evaluation of housing policies, strategies and programmes.