Residential land use transformation is becoming a recurring phenomenon in urban areas. The study assessed the impacts of the transformation of residential land use on neighbourhood quality in Port Harcourt Municipality. The specific objectives are to describe the current condition of the residential neighbourhoods of the study area; identify the type of land use change taking place and causes in the neighbourhoods; assess the impacts of the transformation of residential neighbourhood quality in the study area; and identify physical planning measures that will check rapid transformation of the neighbourhoods to improve their neighbourhood quality. The study adopted a quantitative research approach employing a causal-comparative research design. The study used a simple random technique for data collection. The study identified 25 neighbourhoods and randomly selected 3 neighbourhoods: Orominike Layout (D/Line), Ogbunabali and Oromerezimgbu neighbourhoods. A total of 397 respondents were determined and selected for the study by applying the Taro Yamane formula. The determined sample size was distributed proportionately across selected neighbourhoods for the study. From the findings, the study showed that currently, there is a transformation of the planned residential land use of the Port Harcourt Master Plan of 1975 to accommodate other land uses and activities (mixed-use, commercial, industrial and institutional) in the studied neighbourhoods, as observed in 2005 and 2022. The study further identified population growth, urbanisation, infrastructure and services development, government inaction, economic activities and transportation as the causes of the land-use transformation. These impacts on the neighbourhood quality caused by the land use transformation include increased rental value, environmental pollution, security and safety challenges, traffic congestion and deduction of social amenity quality, which has adversely affected residents and businesses. However, there are beneficial impacts for landlords and investors. Addressing these observed impacts of the study would require a review of the Port Harcourt Master Plan of 1975, especially the studied neighbourhoods to evaluate the level and magnitude of changes that have occurred, replanning of the neighbourhoods to incorporate the newly introduced land uses and activities to promote Multi-functional Landuse System (MfLS), provide guidelines to carry out development control activities through collaboration and coordination of planning activities to eliminate regulatory conflicts, regulate indiscriminate transformation without adequate plan to accommodate such changes, and introduce security and safety measures in neighbourhoods through provision of street lighting, community policing initiatives to enhance neighbourhood safety.
Ibama et al. (Fri,) studied this question.