A Study Of Urban Regeneration And CPI As A Tool For Sustainable Urban Growth In The City Of Ibadan, Nigeria, West Africa

In the wake of urban growth in urban centers across the world, there is a need to expose further the social, economic, and environmental sustainability aspect of cities. The fulfillment of sustainable urban growth with the combination of achieving prosperity is the merger this research sought to achieve. Urban regeneration projects are not new to urban centers; however, there is a deficiency in the study of the methods to ensure urban regeneration practices and their planning processes are sustainable. This research aimed to identify and develop strategies for sustainable urban growth in the city of Ibadan that can be used to evaluate other West African cities.

City Prosperity Initiative was adopted as a tool in evaluating the city of Ibadan and in proffering strategies for sustainable urban growth. The City Prosperity Initiative (CPI) is a global project that seeks to provide guidance to cities around the world on how to measure their economic, social, and environmental performance. The Initiative was launched in 2012 by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) as a global effort to develop a comprehensive framework for measuring urban progress across multiple dimensions.

A comprehensive examination took place to analyse what led to the sporadic decay of the city, which took it away from being one of the frontline cities in West Africa and Africa in general. The Master-Plan of Ibadan was evaluated, and City Prosperity Indicators (CPI) were used to pinpoint what planning policies to focus on from the available data in the Master-Plan. The researcher carried out unstructured interviews with government professionals in Ibadan, Nigeria. Focus group discussions were carried out in the city of Ibadan with local stakeholders to consolidate the findings and propose further improvements.

Findings show a lack of coordination between the urban regeneration projects and practices being employed in the Master-Planning of the city. City dwellers established that Ibadan city lacked community cohesion, had poor civic identity, varying degree of security threats, poor mobility and connectivity resulting in the poor quality of life of the populace. Urban growth has been inadequately managed, and it needs a planning process that can curtail, manage, and ultimately create satisfaction for its citizenry.

The research contributes to how Ibadan could work as a model for mid-size west African cities, whose institutional system and governance is influenced by their post-colonialist condition. The study also contributes to the literature on the relationship between the urban regeneration process and the need for city planning.