Paper presented at the XXXIII IAHS World Congress on Housing, 27-30 September 2005,"Transforming Housing Environments through Design", University of Pretoria.
The relevance of housing in urban and rural environment cannot be over-emphasised. It contributes to the attainment of physical and moral health of a nation, stimulates social stability, the work efficiency, and the development of the individuals. This paper attempts to examine the urban housing problem and responses in Nigeria. The paper explores the fundamental root cause of the housing problem in Nigeria. The past and contemporary official responses to the urban housing questions are critically examined. The paper asserts that previous responses to the housing problems had failed in Nigeria largely due to institutionalized mechanisms of decision making and implementation process. Finally the authors posit their viewpoints as a way of solving the urban housing problems in Nigeria. All correspondence to: Dr. L.M. Olayiwola Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Tel: 234833379719 E-mail: lasmol2001@yahoo.com
