Encroachment on green open space, its implications on health and socio-economy in Akure, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Sustainable urbanism is a global issue with a plethora of publications both theoretical and practical. This has been spurred by the encroachment on Green Open Space (GOS) in the form of development and by extension sprawl. This is now seen as the main cause of risk of chronic diseases in cities since city dwellers spend much of their time outdoors. Loss of use of GOS has been found to be directly related to residents’ behavior and socio-economic situations. Increase contact with nature, can also increase a sense of community, and also help to reduce socio-economic inequalities. Since GOS is mostly not fully utilized as a resource, this paper explores the practical form of encroachment on GOS with adjoining negative consequences on sustainable management in Akure. It, therefore, assesses the rate and extent of urban sprawl using remote sensing and GIS techniques, while assessing its health with socio-economic implication on the people. The paper concludes with suggestions on sustainable urbanism to help in governance in the use of GOS as a resource for promoting a healthy environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainable urbanism
• urban sprawl
• health
• socio-economic inequality
• green open space

This article is related to:

Research for city practice

Acknowledgments

My appreciation goes to Aishat .A. Bashorun who assisted in the data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Oloyede Alabi

Michael Oloyede Alabi holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, currently a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. He specializes in Land use and Environmental management, currently researching on inequality and social exclusion in cities.