ABSTRACT
An urban centre is an agglomeration of people that are organized around non-agricultural activities, and urban growth is the rate of growth of an urban population. While urbanization is defined as the agglomeration of people in relatively large number at a particular spot of the earth surface. Urbanization in Nigeria and other developing countries has been very alarming over the past ten (10) years. This is as a result of high rate of rural-urban drift, which has resulted to various problems like, unemployment, poverty, floods, squatter settlements, pollution (land, air, noise, water and visual), slums, overpopulation, traffic congestion, crimes, and food insecurity inter alia. There is high rural-urban drift in Nigeria because of the inequalities, in terms of infrastructural facilities, services, social amenities and heterogeneity economic activities in favor of urban centres. The attempt of this research is to design and implement an urban growth and expansion management system that would help in easy and reliable access of information.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Urban growth management has been amplified in spatial policy since the environmental and social costs of urban expansion became key issues for urban sustainable development’ (Onibokun, 2013). A defining feature of twentieth-century metropolitan urban development in most of the world’s largest cities is the dominance of low-density suburban and peri-urban landscapes (sometimes referred to as sprawl). A crucial question is to what extent this conventional market-driven form of urban development is considered to be sustainable. Until recently, the debate has focused on the implications for infrastructure services provision, travel and fuel consumption, but the effects of urban forms on ecology, wildlife, natural resources, social equity, behaviour and economic well-being are now recognized as equally important to urban sustainability (Adamu, 2020). The notion of achieving a more compact urban form has gained popularity in the debate on the most sustainable urban form, and central to this theme, the last century witnessed an evolution of an urban growth management discourse, as large cities trial different techniques towards achieving more sustainable urban forms. This paper explores the evolution of the urban growth management discourse and the lessons learnt thus far to arrive at what is considered to be current best practices. The objective is to illustrate some of the implications these practices present to developing countries and whether international urban growth management practice can offer meaningful solutions to developing governments and economies. Right from the dawn of civilization in human history, the city has been formed and developed as the center of human activities in various realms. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the growth of cities arose from and contributed to economic advancement (Robert, 2015). However, the growth of the city today has proceeded at an unprecedented pace, along with industrial and technological development. In addition, the excessive concentration of population and industry in the city has been accelerating uncontrolled Urban Sprawl and Urbanization in under-developed countries. The developing countries have been transformed from a world of villages to a world of cities and towns (Adedibu, 2012).
First, it is important to draw a clear distinction between the two main processes of urban development urban growth and urbanization. The developed and developing countries of the world differ in the way in which urbanization is occurring in order to understand how policies dealing with growth were chosen for different context. In many megacities of developing world, urban sprawl is a common problem and a substantial amount of city dwellers live in slums within the city or in urban periphery in poverty and degraded environment (Salau, 2017). The rapid growth of cities strains their capacity to provide services for housing, infrastructure, health & education that has increased at a rate far greater than the public sector has been able to satisfy cities become areas of serious environmental problems.. Nevertheless, cities provide poor people with more opportunities and greater access to resources to transform their situation than rural areas.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Urban growth poses many problems, some of which are due to expansion of the population and some due to the physical expansion of the towns. The major problems caused by urban growth are discussed below.
1. Employment:
Rural-urban migration has been going on for centuries, but it has not always been as great a problem as it is today. In fact, wherever the drift is gradual and involves only small numbers it can usually be contained, and this was almost always the case in the past when population numbers were small.
2. Provision of Social Services:
The poverty of migrants in the cities such as Kolkata, Lagos, Manila or Rio de Janeiro aggravates the problems of providing social services such as water, sanitation and sewage disposal. Such is the pace of growth that in some cities plans for improvement merely scratch at the surface of the problem.
3. Urban Sprawl:
Among the major problems posed by town growth is the areal expansion of rapidly growing cities. In almost all countries of the world towns are growing at the expense of surrounding agricultural land. In both developed and underdeveloped countries, the wealthier classes of town dwellers are constantly moving from the crowded centres of the cities to the more pleasant suburbs where they can build larger houses.
4. Traffic Congestion:
Size is not the only physical problem associated with town growth. Another major problem is traffic congestion. The larger a town grows and the more important its functions become, the more the number of people who are likely to work or shop there. As the town becomes larger, the people living within the built-up area need to travel from one area of the town to another. Outsiders naturally bring their cars or travel by public transport. Wherever trade is important, commercial vehicles such as vans and lorries also add to the traffic.
5. Pollution:
Another problem which has only been fully realized in recent years is that of pollution and environmental deterioration. This has been a growing problem in towns all over the world for many years and includes not Only pollution of the air by smoke from factories and houses, fumes from cars and so on, but also pollution of rivers and other water resources in urban areas by effluents from factories, oil and rubbish.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this research work is to develop a Management system for Urban Growth and Expansion.
The objectives of this research work are to develop a system that can:
- Provide a secure system for urban growth and expansion information.
- Help the urban society to attend to many activities without being over worked.
- Keep the records and reports of urban society for easy retrieval with increased data security.
- Reduce the amount of resources. This in turn will lower the cost of processing of urban details entry, since information will be stored in a database with reduced data redundancy.
1.4 Significance of the Study
Urban growth is thought to occur because of the real and perceived benefits of the clustering of human activity (economic and social) in areas of close proximity. Urban centres offer economies of scale in productive enterprises and public investment. Perceived opportunities such as better and more diverse jobs, improved services and the potential for environmental advantage attract people to urban areas. Urban centres are also social melting pots, centres of innovation and drivers of social change.
However, the speed and scale of urbanisation pose significant challenges: cities are increasingly marked by social differentiation, poverty, conflict and environmental degradation. Unplanned urban growth may negatively affect economic and social well-being, contributing to congestion, poor housing, pressure on limited public services, air and water pollution and associated health issues. The benefits of agglomeration are also experienced unequally across urban populations. For example, although access to services is higher in urban areas, for those living at or below the poverty line service quality can be poor and costs high. Certain groups, particularly those in informal settlements, may be marginalised in both access to services and decision-making processes.
1.5 Scope of the Study
The scope of this research work is to design a management system for urban growth and expansion that will handle electronically urban record, to enable easy accessibility and information flow within the urban area, which will help in keeping the records and reports of staff for easy retrieval with increased data security, the system will help urban area to attend to many information without being over worked and also teachers’ remittance can be made on an agreed time interval.
1.6 Limitations of the Study
This research work was limited to the researcher due to trespass and encroachment in personal details. It is important to mention here that time was a major constraint in the course of fact finding. It is also wise to mention here that some information I needed to work with was not collected because of the unwillingness of the staff to review such information. Financial constraint also constituted in carrying an in depth study of this project.
1.7 Definition of Technical Terms
Growth: is a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or more important eg; the growth of population.
Urban Area: An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment.
Expansion: the act of expanding or the state of being expanded, something expanded; an expanded surface or part, the degree, extent, or amount by which something expands.
Management System: A management system is a set of policies, processes and procedures used by an organization to ensure that it can fulfill the tasks required to achieve its objectives. These objectives cover many aspects of the organization’s operations.
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