ABSTRACT
A field survey was carried out at eight (8) locations (Powerline, Sabo, Oja-oba, Oke-ayepe, Oke-baale, Dagbolu, Aiyetoro and Isale-osun) selected randomly in Osogbo city of Osun state. Nigeria to assess the extent of Landscape practice in the city. This is done through the administration of questionnaire to 0.2% of the selected location projected 2015 population from the available 1991 population data and a total of 193 questionnaire was administered. Two hypotheses were tested and the two involve two different variable against one (Topography and Government effort against Landscape Quality) using the chi square to determine their level of significance difference. This is to ascertain the quality of Osogbo Landscape and the major cause for the result be it Good or bad which is definitely bad with a level of significance difference less than 0.05 (p>0.05) for the two hypotheses. Other data acquire through the administration of questionnaire on site were analysis with the use of SPPS and interpreted with the use of Graphical representations.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0. INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Land is one of the resources of the ecosystem, central to the existence of man and the assessment of land as an aspect of resource management is germane to effective planning and sustainable development. Land usually functions as corridors for fresh air supply and facilitates good air circulation in general; it enhances the recreational quality for the public and the overall image of a place. The amount of the provision, distribution, and the ease of access to green and well planned land are key contributors to social and ecological functions in urban environments (Barbosa, 2007). However, these key contributors, perhaps, can occur by the knowledge integration of urban planner and Landscape architect. Good Landscape which is beautifying and management of land comes from the knowledge integration of these two professions (Antrop, 2001). A successful implementation of Landscape demands careful thought on how Landscape planning concepts and thoughts can be translated and communicated to people who have to be consider much more since they are the end consumer. Concepts, theories and methods from planning also need to be given careful thought in order to contribute to a successful implementation of proper landscaping foundation as one of the key to what sustain a city to meet it immediate and future demand. (Yasmin& Ismail, 2015).
Landscaping denotes the process of shaping, modifying and creating an outdoor scene, ordered to effectively express the functional and supportive attribute of the public domains within the urban environment. Public domain here means the collective shared spaces within which most of the day-to-day experiences occur in an urban environment which include parks, streets, markets, playground and other open spaces among others (Fadamiro&Atolagbe, 2006).
The environment is an interactive, indispensable medium within and through which man’s life performance is carried out, man’s life in his present nature is unimaginable without the environment to supply him with his basic needs such as air (to breath), water (to drink and wash with), food (to eat), and solid materials for fashioning weapons, building shelters and clothing (Atolagbe,2002). Furthermore man’s areas of exploitation of the environment is limitless and include those he does unconsciously and others that are still a mystery to him like procreation, cell division, differentiation and growth. This exploitation of environmental resources for his needs was initially considered inconsequential, but has changed over time and this is in the face of evidence of uncontrolled urban growth, leading to environmental degradation, deformation and depletion of man supportive resources and increase in man antagonistic ones. So this lead to the realisation that man’s reckless exploitation spell doom or outright annihilation for plants and animals including man. (Fadamiro&Atolagbe, 2006).Due to man inconsequential exploitation of environmental resources as said above, the well natural Landscaped areas start to ware-off and all the planning effort put in place becomes of no value and giving the well natural Landscaped area another look which is no longer pleasant to the living and non-living component of the environment. This is attributed to rapid urbanization, rural-urban migration, and decades of steady economic downturn, decay of urban infrastructure, poor housing quality and poor maintenance of the natural Landscape (World Bank, 2005).
Osogbo in Osun state is an evidence of the outcome of man consequential exploitation of the environment resources. Been the state capital of Osun state makes it the number one centre of attraction to both the indigene and non-indigene of the area, increasing the population and making the area to witness of all environmental problems highlighted by World Bank above.
The above stated relationship between man and the environment then calls for proper assessment of Landscape planning of the study area to know if it is well constructed, managed and monitored.
1.2. STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
The poor quality of the Nigerian urban environment has been attributed partly to the inadequate, misuse and mismanagement of the urban open spaces upon which various researchers has exerted a major strain on the physical outlook of the environment and the negative effect on the welfare and productivity of the residents(Fadamiro&Atolagbe, 2006). This has called for the need to identify and analyse the open spaces in the urban environment, assess the Landscape of the city and the development of a healthy and sustainable environment through the application of the right measures and control (Fadamiro&Atolagbe, 2006). Landscape assessment as an aspect of resource management is germane to effective planning and sustainable development and its essence is to determine the capability and sustainability of an area for different uses giving necessary consideration to its fragile components. Sustainable development in any area ought to be based on considerations of its natural environment and it elements through Landscape analysis and assessment as urged by Simmonds (1983).Landscape assessment is a formal, synthetic and systematic process to appraisal the physical form, social and economy of an area making it the ultimate objective of Landscape assessment to ensure that assessing conclusions and environmental consequences are integrated into strategic decision-making process, such as the decision-making in planning authority (Liu Jie, et al, 2010).
Osogbo been a typical traditional African cities is the capital city of Osun state in Nigeria and this gives it a stand amidst other cities and towns in Osun state with more historical features hereby associating it with buoyant economic activities leading to increase in population. Pressure on social amenities, pollution and agents of environmental degradation is now a characteristic of the study area bringing about a misbalance in the environment Landscape causing the area to be sick physically, socially and economically (Adedeji, Fadamiro, &Adeoye, 2014). If immediate decision is not taken and supplemented with action to improve the condition of Osogbo, there is tendency for the city Landscape to deteriorate irreparably, in a bid to avoid such occurrences, there is need to assess the city Landscape and suggest necessary measures that will harmonize man’s relationship with the Landscape.
1.3. JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY
Analysis of Landscape is a comprehensive application of ecology, earth science, system science, environmental science and computer science to analyze land development and utilization suitability for seeking the best pattern and planning of land (Liu Jie et al, 2010).Landscape planning promotes rapid development of an economy and sustainable utilization of land resources. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and evaluate the Landscape of an area from the perspective of ecological protection and construction (Liu Jie et al, 2010).Landscape assessment is the analysis of the evolution of a Landscape, an examination of the basic natural and human processes with ecological interrelationships which jointly shape that Landscape and determine values forints uses over a period of time (Obiefuna, Idris&Uduma-Olugu, 2011), though is a formal, synthetic and systematic process to appraisal and show what the environment plan looks like and the alternatives.Landscape assessment is an ultimate tool use to ensure that assessing conclusions and environmental consequences are integrated into strategic decision-making process, such as the decision-making in planning (Liu Jie, et al, 2010).The Landscape structure can only be explained by distributed information stating the facts that are related to Landscape elements like spatial size, shape, number, type, direction, and organization of Landscape elements. Area, perimeter, and shape index were adopted to assess Landscape structure, because these are the most representative indices for analyzing Landscape planning in an area (Dongwoo&Kyushik, 2012).
Research efforts on Nigeria urban areas conditions has shown that their environment has challenges of conflicting land uses, unsightly cityscape, poor aesthetics, traffic congestion and others (Oduwaye, 2009). Landscape patterns as seen in Landscape ecology strongly influence ecological processes (McGarigal, Cushman&Ene, 2002), just as the structure of Landscapes is directly related to their functional capability and overall environmental quality (Fasona et al. 2007). Landscape planning determines the functionality and development strategies of an area, Landscape assessments helps to determines the changes in the Landscape, it equally determine the extent and rate of change in land-use/land cover and as well determine the Landscape. There is therefore the need to assess the Landscape of Osogbo, so as to determine the development in the environment conform to the standards across globe (Obiefuna, Idris&Uduma-Olugu, 2011).
1.4. AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4.1 Aim of the Study
The aim of this research work is to assess the built environment with a view of knowing if it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and suggests appropriate planning measures to achieve sustainable city Landscape.
1.4.2. Objectives of the Study
In order to achieve this, the following objectives were set:
a. Identify the nature of the city Landscape (built environment).
b. Know if the people are involved in landscape planning and management.
c. Evaluate the role of government in Landscape planning and management.
d. Identify current challenges plaguing Landscape planning and management.
1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS
1.5.1. Research Questions
i. What is the nature of the city Landscape?
ii. Are the people are involved in landscape planning and management. ?
iii. What are the roles of government in Landscape planning and management?
iv. What are the current challenges plaguing Landscape planning and management?
1.5.2 Hypothesis
a) Null hypothesis (H0) = There is no significant relationship between the Topography and the Landscape quality of Osogbo, while
Alternative hypothesis (Ha) = There is significant relationship between the Topography and the Landscape quality of Osogbo.
b) Null hypothesis (H0) = Effort of government is not a determinant of Landscape quality in Osogbo, while
Alternative hypothesis (Ha) = Effort of government determine Landscape quality of Osogbo.
1.6 RESEARCH LIMITATION
Some of these challenges encountered during the research are:-
Unwillingness of government officials at releasing information on Landscape planning, difficulty interpreting landscape planning terms and what it entails to non-urban planners,this is because not everyone is familiar with landscape planning terms; and inadequacy of funds to acquire new technology for data collection such as geographic information system (GIS), satellites Imageries etc.
1.7. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Landscaping: This denotes the process of shaping, modifying and creating an outdoor scene, ordered to effectively express the functional and supportive attribute of the public domains within the urban environment (Fadamiro&Atolagbe, 2006).
Landscape Planning: Landscape planning as a means of optimal allocation of land resources, which is often used to assess the landform, present relationship situation between man and environment in such study area in the aspects of land scale, land use structure and spatial distribution. (Liu Jie, et al, 2010).
Assessment: This is the final judgement about something that has been thoroughly and carefully thought about before concluding on a final decision (Oxford Advance learner Dictionary, 7th edition).
1.8. THE STUDY AREA
1.8.1. Historical Background
Osogbo is a pre-colonial Yoruba ethnic city in the southwestern Nigeria. The city has served as a commercial node since 1907 when the Nigerian railway station was established and the rail line passed through the city and also the industrial center of British Cotton Growing Association. Also, the city was the administrative headquarters of the former Osun Division and presently the capital city of Osun State with well-established formal commercial activities. Osogbo has an organically evolved cultural edifice and Landscape associated with the Yoruba tradition religion and culture.
Fig. 1.1 Map of Nigeria showing Osun state.
1.8.2 Geographical Location
Osogbo is located on Latitude 70 46’ 0” Northand Longitude 40 34’ 0” East, postal code 230 and a total cover area of 18sqm.
ASSESSMENT OF LANDSCAPE PLANNING IN NIGERIA URBAN CENTERS, A CASES STUDY OF OSOGBO CITY IN OSUN STATE. NIGERIA
