Evaluation of the Urban Upgrade Planning Strategies for Old Orozo Township, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

The urbanization process in Orozo, Abuja has not been accompanied with a corresponding supply of adequate housing, basic infrastructures and amenities. Consequently, this has led to the development of disorganized, overcrowded, declined, dilapidated, blighted areas and large proportion of slums within the town. Therefore, the Study focused on evaluation of urban upgrade planning strategies for old Orozo township Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. During the reconnaissance survey the study area was delineated into five (5) zones, with a total of 63,070 housing unit, a total of 380 respondents were sampled Krejcie and Morgan (1970) formula. Questionnaire was used to collect information on socio- economic characteristics of respondents, housing, age type, nature and space availability and evaluate the existing infrastructural facilities in housing of the study area data were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics. The results obtained shows that 43%, 49%, 44% and 51% of respondents in Zone A, B, D and E respectively are involved in trade and commerce while 31% in Zone C were artisanal and construction workers. The study area lacks portable water supply, modern sewage, appropriate drainage facilities, refuge disposal and poor road infrastructures. Also, majority of respondents in Zone A (57%), B (53%), C (54%), D (51%) and E (37%) practiced open dumping. The study also revealed that in majority of the respondents in Zone A, B, C, D and E, (79%, 77%, 64%, 84% and 77%) indicated that buildings in the study area are mostly for residential purposes. The study area is dominated with old buildings as respondents in Zone A, B, C, and D (29%, 33%, 34% and 23%) indicated that most of the houses in the study area are 40 to 49 years old while highest percentage of respondents in Zone E (28%) indicated that the houses are up to 50 years. There is a significant relationship between income and housing quality of the study area. Furthermore, appropriate slum upgrade was perceived as the appropriate upgrading measures considering the policies that can be employed to improve the standard of living of inhabitants and enhance the physical condition of the indigenous community of orozo. It is therefore, recommended that public-private initiatives and participatory measures should be embarked upon in the urban renewal process of old Orozo Township, and Government should embark on the provision of inventories of housing stocks in the study area for participatory upgrading and maintenance with owners and inheritors of such properties. Also, Maintenance, reuse and upgrading of such properties can be encouraged through property tax rebates and other incentives.