Building-use Conversion and the Perceptual Assessment of Utilities Serviceability in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract
This study has analysed the spatio-temporal pattern of building-use conversion and its explanatory variables with a view to assessing the serviceability of utilities arising from their use-pressure in parts of Lagos metropolis. The study focused on identifying the spatio-temporal use-specific patterns of building stock and the dominant building-use attributes at completion. Also, among the study spotlights are the spatio-temporal dynamics of building-use conversion and the factors that are associated with the event of use-conversion, the implication of use-conversion on its supporting utilities for livable neighbourhood and the ‘Pareto-equity’ problem of use-pressure on the utilities from the perception of the metropolitan regions and the stakeholders. The study employed both purposive and multi-stage sampling techniques to obtain the metropolitan tracts in which the study samples were drawn. Further analysis employed the degree of commercial activity to reclassify the metropolitan area. Among others, the study analyzed the degree of building-use conversion in different regions of the metropolis and it examined the magnitude of loss and gain among uses to which the sampled buildings were used between their completion and the time of the study survey using Markov Chain analysis. Factor analysis was employed to obtain the factor classification of the variables that underpin use-conversion. A more detailed analysis employed the logistic regression to model variables that are associated with the event of use-conversion. Analysis of the serviceability of the selected utilities in the context of building conversion is operational in terms of whether such utilities have experienced positive or negative changes in their service performance rating across the years of analysis as perceived by the respondents in the metropolis using student’s t-test analysis. Five (5) relevant hypotheses were tested. Findings among others show that residential purpose constitutes the modal approved use for the covered period. Residential-use also experienced greatest loss to other uses while building in the mixed-use category experienced the greatest proportional gain from other use categories. Consequently, building in the mixed-use category constitutes the modal group at the time of the study. Factor analytical procedure was used to compress the initial 21 variables to two factors namely; building-related factor and neighbourhood-related factor. The logistic regression analysis shows that location, age of building, type of title a building holds and ownership status are variables that significantly associated with the event of use-conversion in Lagos metropolis. Respondents on the average, perceived the changes in the serviceability rating of the building supporting utilities or related surrogates between designated years as ‘fair’ except those at the metropolitan suburban neighbourhood. Interestingly, observed differences in the levels of ‘approval/disapproval’ of serviceability rating of utilities or related surrogates across the designated period did not differentiate the landlords from the tenants. The study concludes by highlighting the apparent inevitability of use-conversion in the current Lagos metropolis setting and the need to step up further researches which are directed at producing clues for addressing its implications.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies, University of Lagos
Keywords
Use-Conversion , Building-Use , Utilities Serviceability , Pareto Equity , Research Subject Categories::TECHNOLOGY::Materials science
Citation
Oni, A.F (2015). Building-use Conversion and the Perceptual Assessment of Utilities Serviceability in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria. A Thesis Submitted to University of Lagos School of Postgraduate Studies Phd Thesis and Dissertation, 166pp.