Informal urban migrant settlements in Nigeria: environmental and socioeconomic dynamics of Sabo, Ibadan

Against the background of increasingly uncontrolled urbanization, neglect of informal settlements in urban land use and socioeconomic development planning process, this paper evaluates the spatial dynamics and socioeconomic-cum housing environment of the informal migrant settlement of Sabo, Ibadan. Geo-spatial data (Landsat imageries) were obtained from United States Geological Survey and Google earth pro to generate land use maps and analyze its dynamics between 1975 and 2015. The socioeconomic-cum-housing data were obtained through questionnaire administration to 280 sampled residents and or business operators using a multistage sampling procedure involving both random and accidental sampling, alongside direct observations. Resulting data were presented using tables, charts and pictures. The paper observes the changing land use types and pattern, particularly the general increase in residential (76%) and exponential increase in commercial land uses (172.7%) and the shrinking of open space/vegetation land uses, together with the concomitant environmental issues, especially in the housing environment. It also confirms the concentration of migrants in the area and their socioeconomic importance to the larger city, as well as recommends effective integration of the informal settlement into the city formal planning and environmental management framework.