Urban Growth Management of Nigerian Cities

The problems of rapid population growth and physical development of Nigeria cities have been a source of concern for urban planners and policy makers in recent years. The rate of population growth is observed to be astronomically high, particularly in the urban canters. As a consequence, the sizes of cities in Nigeria are growing in a haphazard and uncontrolled manner. Over the years, successive governments in Nigeria have taken bold steps to tackle physical development problems in the country. For instance, Physical planning was enacted and town planning authorities were established to guide the development and growth of the cities in the country. Despite these efforts, haphazard developments still persist in Nigerian cities, thus resulting in myriad of problems such as congestion, slum growth, urban cramp, sprawl development and degraded urban environment. These observed failures are attributable to ineffective and out-dated existing development control tools such as zoning, subdivision and building codes. The paper is aimed at redressing these problems in order to ensure an orderly, physical urban development and good city image in Nigeria. GIS is one such, new and effective technique to achieve this purpose. GIS provides excellent analytical tool for ensuring effective development control and management of Nigerian and indeed other African cities.