Urban Public Housing in Northern Nigeria

This book provides readers with two major practical insights. Firstly, on the basis of statistical inquiry it identifies the significance of socio-cultural elements that encourage user-instigated transformation. Secondly, it employs layout pattern analysis to distinguish transformation patterns, hence revealing an unbroken cultural link between residents and their roots. The book also sheds new light on the transformation of public housing in the context of culture-sensitive communities in Northern Nigeria. 

The research work is directed towards developing culture-responsive public housing design frameworks that are rooted in the current users’ experiences. As a result, a broad portrait of prime design emerges from said experiences. In order to accomplish this goal, the study takes into account both phenomenological and interpretive dimensions. In the process, the cultural factors behind residents’ transformations are uncovered.

Preface.- Acknowledgments.- Foreword.- Chapter 1.- Chapter 2: The dimension of public housing in Nigeria.- Chapter 3: Culture and Space as an integral phenomenon of housing transformation.- Chapter 4: Search for cultural attributes appropriate for design ideals.- Chapter 5: Search for Public housing inhabitants’ link with the root.- Chapter 6: Search for design patterns and design indices in transformed housing units.- Chapter 7: Cultural determinants and spatial patterns of design framework units.- Chapter 8: Rethinking sustainable public housing design in cultured communities.- Appendix.- Glossary.- Summary.