Incremental Construction for Sustainable Low-Income Housing Delivery in Developing Countries: a Case Study of Bayelsa State Nigeria

This paper focused on the role of the low-income urban dwellers in attempting to solve their ever increasing and complicated housing problem which is a bye product of the enabling concept. Hence, this study was carried out with the main aim of determining the housing type and construction method suitable for the low-income urban dwellers in Bayelsa State Nigeria. This was achieved through appraisal of the physical characteristics of residential buildings occupied by the low-income earners in the study area. This will help to reduce the growth of urban sprawl in the city and reduce the housing deficit for the urban poor. The study employed mixed method approach of qualitative and quantitative with the former taken most of the study. Data were collected by in-depth interview, observation, and questionnaire administration using data presentation instruments (sketches and photographs) to enhance the data presentation. Content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data, while the quantitative data collected was analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that the housing type suitable for the lowincome is the non-conventional indigenous housing and development method of incremental housing construction. The recommendations included the adoption of incremental housing construction option, simple and less complicated building that satisfies the individual's spatial preferences and based on the principle of self-help construction and affordability as well as use of local construction methods