Global Sustainability Research ISSN: 2833-986X https://doi.org/10.56556/gssr.v2i1.430 33 Global Scientific Research Effect of Road Rehabilitation on Housing Renovation in Calabar South Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria Ezekiel James Bassey1, Salvation U. Eteng2*, Ndifreke M. Etim2 1Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Environmental Studies, Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria 2Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Corresponding author: Salvation U.Eteng: salvationeteng@gmail.com Received: 05 January, 2023, Accepted: 18 March, 2023, Published: 21 March, 2023 Abstract Infrastructure provision has been identified as a potent tool for the improvement of neighborhoods globally. One such infrastructure is a good road network. Road rehabilitation, therefore, has the capability of promoting land use development and housing development/renovation. Despite the obvious effect that road rehabilitation has on predicting property development and renovation, there appears to be a paucity of studies as it relates to Calabar South Local Government Area where road several roads have been rehabilitated. It is against this backdrop that this study was conceived. The study, therefore, analysed the relationship that exists between road rehabilitation and housing renovation in Calabar South Local Government Area between 2002 and 2021. Six residential neighbourhoods were randomly sampled. Furthermore, a total of 399 copies of the questionnaire were distributed and 389 copies were retrieved and used for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and simple percentages were used in carrying out the analysis. It was noted that road rehabilitation drastically triggered the renovation of properties in the study area. For instance, there was an increase in the extent to which housing units were fenced, painted among other renovation exercises in housing units before and after the rehabilitation of the roads. Keywords: Housing; Housing renovation; housing quality; housing environment; road rehabilitation Introduction Rehabilitation involves enhancing the quality of deteriorating neighbourhood through improving and maintaining existing infrastructure. The essence of rehabilitation is to prevent infrastructure/properties from deterioration, dilapidation and collapse. Rehabilitation of roads basically requires repairs and improvements through reconstruction and recoating of road surfaces (Sule, 2005), upgrading and construction of road surfaces that were previously in a state of disrepair (Hartoyo, 2013; Bassey, Eteng and Ewah, 2022). Holistically, roads play diverse roles in the society that makes it very importance. For instance, in rural areas, roads basically promote agricultural development and productivity (Bassey et al., 2022; Bassey and Eteng, 2022) while in urban setting, roads influence the siting of land uses/developments, housing, markets etc. While roads are largely important in predicting developments, scholars (Ajom, Etim and Bassey, 2022; Ajom, Eteng and Etim, 2022; Eteng, 2016) have showed positive relationships between road rehabilitation and property development. Eteng (2016) showed that developers are always clamouring for land in accessible area for housing development. Ajom et al., (2002a) argued that road is the prime factor on which housing development depend. Their study highlighted that without accessibility, it is impossible to survive in the environment, embark on social activities among other. Against this backdrop, roads have been recognized as an integral part of the developmental process of regions (Aderamo and Magaji, 2010). Specifically, housing represent a basic need of man. It is more than mere shelter for man. In fact, housing serves as one of the indicators of a person’s standard of living and his place in the society. This justifies why low density areas are characterized by accessible areas. In Calabar South LGA, the urban renewal drive which started in 1999, brought about the development and rehabilitation of several roads. The road rehabilitation process further triggered development of various land uses include residential housing (Eteng, 2016). The level to which the roads have promoted housing renovation has not been studied in available literature. This suggest that there is a gap in knowledge that needs to be filled. Against this backdrop, the paper analysed the level to which road Global Sustainability Research 34 Global Scientific Research rehabilitation has impacted on housing renovation in Calabar South LGA, Cross River State, Nigeria. Literature Review Rehabilitation involves enhancing the quality of deteriorating neighbourhoods by improving and maintaining existing infrastructure. The essence of rehabilitation is to prevent infrastructure/properties from deterioration, dilapidation and collapse. Rehabilitation of roads requires repairs and improvements through reconstruction and recoating of road surfaces (Sule, 2005), upgrading and construction of road surfaces that were previously in a state of disrepair (Hartoyo, 2013; Bassey, Eteng & Ewah, 2022). Holistically, roads play diverse roles in society which makes them very important. For instance, in rural areas, roads promote agricultural development and productivity (Bassey et al., 2022) while in an urban setting, roads influence the siting of land uses/developments, housing, markets etc. While roads are largely important in predicting developments, scholars (Ajom, Etim and Bassey, 2022; Ajom, Eteng & Etim, 2022; Eteng, 2016) have shown positive relationships between road rehabilitation and property development. Eteng (2016) showed that developers are always clamouring for land in an accessible area for housing development. Ajom et al., (2002a) argued that road is the prime factor on which housing development depends. Their study highlighted that without accessibility, it is impossible to survive in the environment, and embark on social activities among others. Against this backdrop, roads have been recognized as an integral part of the developmental process of regions (Aderamo and Magaji, 2010). Specifically, housing represents a basic need of man. It is more than mere shelter for man. Housing serves as one of the indicators of a person’s standard of living and his place in society. This justifies why low-density areas are characterized by accessible areas. In Calabar South LGA, the urban renewal drive which started in 1999, brought about the development and rehabilitation of several roads. The road rehabilitation process further triggered the development of various land uses including residential housing (Eteng, 2016). The level to which the roads have promoted housing renovation has not been studied in the available literature. This suggests that there is a knowledge gap that needs to be filled. Against this backdrop, the paper analysed the level to which road rehabilitation has impacted housing renovation in Calabar South LGA, Cross River State, Nigeria. Fig. 1: Map of Cross River State showing Calabar South. Insert: Nigeria showing Cross River State Source: Geographic Information Agency, 2020 Global Sustainability Research 35 Global Scientific Research Materials and Methods Study Area The study area is Calabar South Local Government Area in Cross River State. It has a total landmass of 262 km2 and it is located between Longitude 8⁰15` East and 8⁰25` East of the Greenwich Meridian and Latitude 4⁰54`North and 4⁰58`North of the Equator. Owing to its latitudinal location, the area receives abundant and constant insulation. It is located in the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State. The population of Calabar South was 185,787 persons according to the 1991 population census (NPC, 1991). Current projections show that over 400,000 persons are residing in the area. the topography of the area is a low-lying mass rising gradually upwards towards the Calabar Municipality. The vegetation of Calabar South is characterized by mangrove and rainforest ecosystems which form part of the rich fauna and flora of the state (Afandigeh et al., 2011). Figure 1 shows the geographic location of the study area. Methods The survey design was used in this study. Data that were collected past and present housing conditions. The random sampling technique was used in the selection of the sampled areas. This is because, all neighbourhoods in the study area have the possibilities of being selected as roads have been rehabilitated in all the residential districts within the last 20 years (2002-2021). Therefore, in order to avoid bias, the random sampling technique was applied. Therefore, six residential neighbourhoods were selected. The selected neighbourhoods that were Henshaw Town, Anantigha, Efut Uwanse, Cobham Town and Duke Town and Mbukpa. In order to determine the appropriate sample size, the Taro Yamane equation was applied. The equation is mathematically expressed as follows; n = N 1+N(e)² Where; n = Sample Size, N = Finite Population, e = Level of Significance (Limit of tolerable error =0.05). In all, a sample of 399 households was taken. The questionnaire were distributed at the household level. Analysis and Discussions Table 1: Condition of Wall before and After Road Rehabilitation S/N Condition of wall Before road rehabilitation After road rehabilitation Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage 1 Sound/Intact 83 21.3 277 71.2 2 Cracking 121 31.1 73 18.8 3 Dilapidating 185 47.6 39 10 Total 389 100 389 100 Source: Field Survey, 2022 Table 1shows the comparison of the walls of houses by respondents before and after the rehabilitation of the road infrastructure. It showed that only 21.3 percent were staying in houses whose walls were sound and intact before the rehabilitation of the road while the road rehabilitation necessitated the upgrading of the walls of the houses of 71.2 percent. Furthermore, the numbers of cracking walls were reduced due to the road rehabilitation exercise as seen in the table. As well, dilapidating walls in houses before the rehabilitation of the road were higher compared to the situation after the rehabilitation exercise. From the observations, it may be deduced that the condition of walls in housing units have witnessed improvements. Table 2: Condition of Roof before and after road rehabilitation S/N Condition of Roof Before road rehabilitation After road rehabilitation Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage 1 Sound/Intact 84 21.6 241 61.9 2 Leaking 187 48.1 96 24.7 3 Sagging 79 20.3 38 9.8 4 Part missing 39 10 14 3.6 Total 389 100 389 100 Source: Field Survey, 2022 Global Sustainability Research 36 Global Scientific Research Table 2 indicates that before the rehabilitation of the road infrastructure, the condition of the roof tops on buildings were not in good conditions. For instance, 21.6 percent respondents were staying in houses with sound and intact roof tops before the rehabilitation of the road while the figure skyrocketed as 61.9 percent respondents affirmed that their roof tops were upgraded upon after the rehabilitation of the road. Equally, 48.1 percent reported that their roof tops were leaking before the rehabilitation of the road. After the road rehabilitation, this figure was reduced as deduced from the opinion of 24.7 percent. Furthermore, 20.3 percent roofs were sagging before the rehabilitation of the road but were reduced to 9.8 percent. In addition, 10 percent parts were missing on their roof tops before the rehabilitation of the road while 3.6 percent respondents were residing in housing units with missing parts. From the table, it is obvious that the houses with leaking, sagging and missing parts have also reduced Table 3: Fencing before and after the rehabilitation of road S/N Fencing Before road rehabilitation After road rehabilitation Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage 1 Fenced 98 25.2 194 49.9 2 Not fenced 291 74.8 195 50.1 389 100 389 100 Source: Field Survey, 2022 Table 3 shows a significant difference in the extent to which residence set up fences in their compounds before and after the rehabilitation of road. The table indicated that the percentage of residents that stay in fenced compounds rosed from 25.5 per cent before the rehabilitation of the road to 49.9 per cent after rehabilitation. The observations suggest that road rehabilitation drastically increased the level to which fences were set up in properties by house owners. Table 4: Painting Before and after road rehabilitation S/N Painting Before road rehabilitation After road rehabilitation Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage 1 Painted 112 28.8 204 52.4 2 Not painted 277 71.2 185 47.6 Total 389 100 389 100 Source: Field Survey, 2022 It was revealed in table 4 that the percentage of painted compounds along rehabilitated roads increased from 28.8 percent before road rehabilitation to 52.4 percent after the rehabilitation of the roads. This is because, the rehabilitation of roads drastically encouraged property owners to fix and upgrade their structures since demand for the housing properties became increased. Recommendations Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made; i. Since road rehabilitation manifest positive effects on housing renovation, there is need to ensure regular rehabilitation of roads in the study area ii. Rehabilitated roads should also be maintained to avoid collapse faster than anticipated iii. There is need to incorporate public private partners in the rehabilitation process iv. Development control should be taken seriously in the study area to ensure that renovation in housing units do not contradict with approved urban development pattern. Conclusion This paper analyzed road rehabilitation and housing renovation in Calabar South Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. It was observed that the rehabilitation of roads leads to the improvement in the conditions of housing units. For instance, the study presented a variation in the quality of building components that were assessed in the appraisal. the variation suggests that housing renovation increased drastically after road rehabilitation. From the findings, it is clear that road rehabilitation is a positive contributor to housing development. Thus, amid growing population Global Sustainability Research 37 Global Scientific Research and the attendant need to ensure good quality housing units to shelter people within the study area, good road provision and rehabilitation can be adopted as a strategy that should be used. Acknowledgement: None Funding: None Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest References Adebayo, M. (2006). The state of urban infrastructure and its effects on property values in Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of land use Developmentstudies, 2(1): 50-59. Aderamo, A. and Magaji, S (2010). Rural transportation and the distribution of public facilities in Nigeria. A case of Edu Local Government Area, Kwara State. Journal of Human Ecology, 29(3): 171 – 179 Afandigeh, A., Ngar, G., Ewa, E., and Iwara, A. (2011). Assessment of water quality status of borehole in Calabar SouthLocal Government area, Cross River State. International Journal of Biosciences, 10(1): 71 – 76 Ajayi, P. (2003). 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