Abstract:
The indiscriminate location of land uses, rapid and uncontrolled development in
urban/rural areas as well as the old and new state capitals in Nigeria have resulted in
urban slums, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, blight, obsolescence and overcrowding.
Worst still, little or no attention is paid to their orderly growth and the demand they
make on the limited land resources. Awka Capital Territory (the study area) as a new
site for the New Anambra State Capital is also affected with the following development
control problems: urban slums, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, blight, obsolescence
and overcrowding.
This research therefore, investigates the need for effective development control
measures in Awka Capital Territory of Anambra State. Two research questions and two
hypotheses were formulated in order to facilitate the study. The research questions
sought to find solution to the problems of effective development control measures in
Awka Capital Territory. Two hypotheses were used to test the relationships among the
following variables: contraventions (illegal developments), official government allocations
and open space/ recreational space preferences by households in the Territory.A representative sample of 15 out of 25 towns that constitute the Awka Capital
Territory were selected for the study. Some 800 questionnaires were distributed in these
towns based on the proportions of their population to that of the entire study area.
Records on allocations and contraventions were obtained from relevant planning agencies
in the area. The chi-square and multiple linear regression (M.L.R) techniques were used
to test the hypotheses.
Findings from the first hypothesis indicate that significant relationship exists
between percentages of official residential allocations and percentage contraventions in
the Awka-Amawbia urban core. Here, X2 calculated (1.46%) i.e the outcome value of
observed and expected frequencies, is more than the significant value (0.078 %) obtained
from the table.
Moreover, there is a fairly positive relationship between the percentage of all
households (Yl), and percentages of non-residential developments in the residential areas
(X1), and the percentages of households that had considerations for open
space/recreational facilities (X2). The analysis gave coefficient of determination (R2)
value of 0.55. The computed P value was 6.83, which is greater than the critical value
of 3.98 at 5 percent significant level. There is significant relationship between the
percentages of all households and percentages of non-residential developments in the
residential areas.However, there is no significant relationship between the percentages of all
holds and percentages of households that had considerations for open
1recreational facilities awareness in the area. This showed non-consideration of
facilities by residents before locating their residences.
The major implication of this study is the need for an effective development
31 measures which will ensure an optimal physical development of not only the new capitals, but also other urban and rural areas of Nigeria.