CHANGING URBAN LAND USE AND NEIGHBOURHOOD QUALITY: EVIDENCE FROM FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY (FCT), ABUJA, NIGERIA

Land use change in more recent times is becoming a natural phenomenon in cities of developing countries. Its causes and consequences were investigated with respect to FCT, Abuja, Nigeria. The responses of registered estate surveying firms (ESFs) practicing in FCT Abuja on the pattern of land use dynamics were obtained and analysed by descriptive statistics such as simple distribution frequency (SDF) and mean weighted score (MWS). Four major findings were discovered. Firstly, the predominantly changing land use were agrarian and residential, secondly the direction of change in land use revolves around public land use, residential, retail and office property with prevailing observations of new development and redevelopment involving renovations/rehabilitations and modifications/alterations. Thirdly the major determinants of land use change were identified as economic and spatial political factors and lastly the noticeable consequences had been arbitrary land/rental value, landscape distortion and pressure on urban infrastructure among others. The study recommended that policymakers and private stakeholders should encourage and adhere to land use control measures to strike a balance between economic development and land administrative system to foster a sustainable urban cities