IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL HOUSING PROVISION AS A STRATEGY FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA.

Being a paper presented by Tpl. Abimbola OMOLABI (Mphil. Env.plg, MNITP, RTP, FCAI) and Adeshola ERINLE

At the

2013 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ORGANISED BY THE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS STUDIES, LAGOS STATE POLYTECHNIC ISOLO CAMPUS, LAGOS.

On Monday 24th Thursday 27th June, 2013.

IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL HOUSING PROVISION AS A STRATEGY FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA. By Tpl. Abimbola OMOLABI Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba Lagos, Nigeria. Email: bimboomolabi@yahoo.com Phone Number: 08052913643 and Adeshola ERINLE Post Graduate Diploma Student of Urban and Regional Planning, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba Lagos, Nigeria. Email: shoxzy12@gmail.com Phone Number: 07068685220 ABSTRACT The paper posits that poverty and housing poverty adversely affect the quality of life of rural population. It emphasises on social housing provision as a strategy for rural development in Nigeria. Social housing also known as subsidized housing is government supported accommodation for people with low incomes and managed either by the state or non-profit organisations or a combination of the two. The provision of adequate housing that is safe, secure, accessible, affordable and sanitary is a fundamental human right, as enshrined in the United Nations Habitat Agenda - the global call on human settlements. Housing has been universally accepted as the second most important human need. However, rural development is a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of rural dwellers. Embarking on rural development is very important considering the fact that more than two-third of the Nigerias population are living in rural areas, and they experience a lot of misery, poverty, morbidity and under-development. The Nigerian Government experiences in rural development showed that not much has been achieved even before and after independence. This paper emphasises on social housing as an approach for improving rural settlement and to reduce the prevalence of poverty in the rural area. It also shows the various social housing types and programmes in Nigeria. The paper finally suggests that there should be an encouragement to employment generation which finds expression in the promotion of social housing to address the needs of rural dwellers. Keywords: Rural Development, Rural Settlement, Poverty, Housing Provision, Social Housing. INTRODUCTION Since the attainment of political independence in 1960, there has been uneven concentration of Government efforts and resources on the development of urban centres with near-total neglect of the rural communities, which unfortunately inhabit over sixty five per cent of Nigeria citizens. Lack of social amenities, limited opportunities for human development, low standards of living, abject poverty and distress in the rural areas have been causing mass movement of rural dwellers to the commercial and industrial cities, thereby worsening rural depopulation and labour-deficit situations. Nevertheless,

Governments have been making attempts to transform the rural settlements. However, the paper is to ensure that this segment of the population has access to housing, which is meant to provide shelter and security, also considered a fundamental development process in which the built environment is created, used and maintained for the quality of life of individuals. (Lawrence, 2004). Poverty and housing poverty is one of the greatest problems to the quality of life in both urban and rural areas. While for urban areas the problems manifest in qualitative and quantitative terms. It is more of qualitative terms in the rural areas which need to be addressed for a sustainable development in Nigeria. Poverty alleviation is an important development of a country like Nigeria. Poverty is largely situated in rural areas where the poorest people live. For this reason, efforts to reduce poverty have largely targeted rural areas. Theoretically, the rural areas of a region or country lie outside the denselybuilt up environments of towns, cities and sub-urban villages and their inhabitants are engaged primarily in agriculture as well as the most basic of rudimentary form of secondary and tertiary activities (Adebayo, 1998). Ariyo (1991) asserts that rural development has been placed to the top of the agenda in Nigeria's national development drive. The increase of interest in rural development can be attributed to a number of events which had their origin in the colonial heritage and the unanticipated oil boom of the seventies. There were massive rural-urban drift of able-bodied young men and women, declining productivity in agriculture, increasing food imports, growing unemployment and the widening gap in welfare terms between the urban and rural areas. Related studies affirmed that rural areas of Nigeria are areas where the lack of basic socio-economic infrastructure, low access to the factors of production, poverty, natural disaster and socio conflict have become a strong push factor for rural out migration. Therefore, there exists large irregularities in the standard of living between geographical areas in Nigeria and pockets of poverty are still common in Nigeria more especially in the rural areas. This has implication for rural development.

Rural development implies increase in the variety of opportunities obtainable in the rural economies. Improvement in the social and economic structures, institutions, relationships and processes is largely synonymous with rural development. It entails massive effort to increase production, create and spread employment and remove the fundamental causes of poverty, disease and ignorance. Rural development also implies a modernisation process which would not only increase the productive capacity but also change attitudes, and replace the sense of dependence on the natural environment by the desire and ability to manipulate it. Literature has revealed that rural development seemingly has no clear cut definition. This offers explanation for the different approaches to rural development strategies. It is the process of improving the quality of life of the rural inhabitant through balance development of the various sectors of the rural economy. Rural poverty is further manifested in limited employed and income generating opportunities due to the absence of commercial and industrial facilities or lack of the necessary resources to establish them. Poverty situation at individual level include inability to sustain and house oneself sufficiently, physical insecurity, inadequate assets, ignorance, incapability to afford basic necessities to meet social and economic needs and powerlessness to improve to one's situation. Thus rural development takes place when strategies, policies and programmes are put in place to ensure that living conditions of rural dwellers are enhanced (Akindele, 1986 cited in Olaseni, 2004). Poverty conditions in Nigeria is corroborated with the statistics below as analysed by the Federal office of statistics based on consumer expenditure surveys carried out over a period of 60 years (1980-1996) and subsequently (1998-2005).

Table 1: Spread trend in poverty levels, 2004 - 2010

Source: Poverty Profile for Nigeria, 2010 Given this background, the paper reviews rural development concept, dimension of poverty and highlights the role of social housing as a strategy for rural development. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The conceptual framework for this paper is designed to explore the relationship between housing poverty, housing policies and the strategy of new social housing provision. The emphasis is on the mix of housing policy instruments implemented in three major policy areas to promote the production of new social housing. The responses in the system of new social housing provision may be evaluated from the point of view of either the individual or society. With respect to the individual, the performance relates to the quality of housing, its availability, and the degree of choice (Boelhouwer and Heijden, 1992; Barlow and Duncan, 1994). From society's point of view, the performance of a social housing system relates to the adequacy of supply relative to 'need' as well as the quality of the stock and its availability at affordable prices (Doling, 1997). The implications for society, and correspondingly for public policies, are associated with the cost of housing of given quality and the ability of the system to deliver housing services in an effective and efficient manner (Angel, 2000; Karn and Wolman, 1992). At
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the fundamental level, the question how much of society's resources are devoted to support the production of social housing (supply-based subsides) or its consumption (demand-based subsidies) is critical. And how these resources affect the operation of private and public social housing providers is particularly significant (Kemeny et al., 2005; Oxley, 2000). These critical reflections on social housing in the literature have influenced the design of a conceptually appropriate framework for this research. In the housing policy realm, the literature documents the influence of fiscal and financial policies to enhance the performance of social housing providers (Bramley et al., 1995; Buckley and Tsenkova, 2001). Monetary policies, demand and supply subsidies, tax incentives, and financial regulation are powerful factors which shape the specific economic and social context in which housing provision systems function (Priemus and Dieleman, 1999, Maclenan and More, 1997). The regulatory environment can enhance efficiency in promotion and production by making social providers and developers more responsive to household preferences or reducing the costs (Carmona et al., 2003; Barlow and Duncan, 1994). Inclusionary zoning, planning agreements, land acquisition strategies and land taxes provide significant impetus for private involvement in new social housing provision (Crook et al, 2006). Different policy instruments are grouped in three major domainsfiscal, financial and regulatory. A series of indicators assists in measuring the impact on new social housing provision at the country/city level: housing quality; stability of investment and production; differentiation of rents; affordability and choice (Angel, 2000; Karn and Wolman 1992; Tsenkova, 2009). The conceptual framework complements the quantitative approach with a strong qualitative analysis of policy content, institutional arrangements for implementation, targeting and results.

Further, the strategy of new social housing provision is unpacked into discreet stages corresponding to the development processpromotion, production, allocation and consumption of housing (Ball and Grilli, 1997); the approach is applied in a series of international comparative studies focusing on supply responses (Boelhouwer and Heijden, 1992; Barlow and Duncan, 1994). Housing provision is examined as a dynamic process of interaction between public and private institutions with a focus on major social housing developers. The approach avoids the emphasis on policy centrism and recognises the importance of institutional structures and social relations in defining outcomes and responses to policy intervention (Doling, 1997; Skifter Andersen and Munk, 1994). Often a combination of housing policy instruments can be packaged to achieve certain outcomes and/or to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of social housing provision (Barker, 2004; Mullins and Murie, 2006). Adding another layer of complexity, these interventions in each country can support alternative forms of new social housing provision, such as a 'state agent' model (Maclennan and More,1997), or 'social agent/enterprise' models, as well as lead to different business strategies for land acquisition and capital mobilisation. RURAL DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT The concept of Rural Development (RD), as an alternative strategy to overall development, has become a world-wide currency and fashion in both the advanced and backward countries. Particularly
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during the last three decades. There is hardly any State policy or programme that does not touch or have a direct bearing on the rural sector. The issues generally addressed on the Rural Development phenomenon are centrally focused on organizing human and natural resources designed to provide a solution to the perennial problems of poverty and deprivation of the rural folks with a view to raising their living conditions. Political arguments are based on the assumption that since the rural population constitutes a larger proportion of the population and produce larger percentage of essential food items, they should enjoy the endresult of their labour. Since the last three decades, there has been particularly in deregulated economics, a continuous and desperate search for the solutions of virtually major development problems. The solutions so far advanced have remained practically elusive, unserviceable and unrealistic. This situation has therefore posed serious challenges to the development strategies in Nigeria and other underdeveloped countries that have been caught up in the orthodox Western socio-economic and political trap. Invariably, the conditions of the peasantry or rural communities, in recent years, have consistently worsened or deteriorated as more and more Rural Development Programmes and strategies have been unfolded. Rural Development is part of general development that embraces a large segment of those in great need in the rural sector. Obinne in Ogidefa (2010) perceived rural development to involve creating and widening opportunities for (rural) individuals to realize full potential through education and share in decision and action which affect their lives. He also viewed it as efforts to increase rural output and create employment opportunities and root out fundamental (or extreme) cases of poverty, diseases and ignorance. Therefore, combining all the essential elements of development, Rural Development can be described as the integrated approach to food production as well as physical, social and institutional infrastructural provisions with an ultimate goal of bringing about both quantitative and qualitative changes which result in improved living standard of the rural population. (WB, 1975; Oludimu, 1986; Asseldonk, 1979 cited in Olaseni, 2004).

Rural development has scope that is broad and elastic, and it depends on the interaction of many forces such as the objectives of the programme, the availability of resources for planning and implementation, etc. In developing countries, such as Nigeria, rural development projects transcends agricultural set-up projects, rural water supply projects, rural electrification projects, rural feeder-road and maintenance projects, rural health and disease control projects, rural education and adult education campaign, rural telecommunication system, and rural industrialization. Based on the scope of rural development (as the improvement of the total welfare of the rural low-income people), the objectives of rural development that evolved include the following: commitment of greater proportion of the resources to the rural areas in terms of budgeting allocation and actual expenditure. ensuring popular participation of the rural people in the identification of priorities, planning of programmes as well as their implementation. laying greater emphasis on the use of renewable resources and promotion of local skills.

expansion and improvement on rural infrastructure such as roads, markets stalls, electricity, water and storage facilities. maintenance of political and social stability creation of rural employment opportunities

increasing commodity out-put and production and subsequently increase food and food supply as well as rural farm incomes The strategies for sustainable rural development in Nigeria, according to Eboh (1995) include the following: investing in human development to alleviate rural poverty, human misery and stabilize populations; creating incentives for rural growth and employment by improving access to production resources and institutional services;
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 empowering rural people via participatory and community-oriented development that is woven around local principles, skills and technologies. DIMENSIONS OF POVERTY Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon that manifests in very many ways which can be categorised into two including poverty induced socio-economic dissatisfaction that portrays a miserable standard of living. In this regards, it encompasses inability to satisfy basic needs, lack of control over resources, lack of education and skill, poor health, malnutrition, lack of shelter, poor access to water and sanitation, vulnerability to shocks, violence and crime, lack of political freedom and voice (World Bank, 1999). The second category focuses on the production side of the economic systems and views poverty as hindrance to it. This is consonance with Akinyele (1994) view that poverty can be said to refer to specific forms and levels of deprivation, which impose major limitations on normal human functioning and existence. Poverty is inseparably linked to lack of control over resources including land, skills, knowledge, capital and social connections (United Nations, 1996). Poverty puts pressure on people to engage in unsustainable and ecologically damaging practices. The 2000/1 WDR conceptualises poverty as the complex interplay between empowerment, security and opportunity. For the present purpose, it may be useful to focus more narrowly on the dimensions that need to be included in a definition of poverty that is, on the ultimate outcomes that anti-poverty action aims to influence. Current research and specialist opinion suggest six dimensions that need to be covered in a definition of poverty that is adequate to its purpose: income/consumption; human capabilities; private and social assets; time and its use; attainment of minimal social participation; security, in respect to risks, shocks and violence. These dimensions and their interaction are illustrated in Figure below.

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Source: WorldBank, 2000. The high level of poverty, especially in the developing nations, has almost crippled the provisions and delivery of housing stocks in most nations. Poverty has ravaged the entire system that no one can pretend not to be aware of its excruciating scourge on the economy. This explains why the attention of most governments and international agencies has been shifted towards alleviating poverty especially in the developing countries today. As the biblical saying goes "the poor shall not cease in the land." The scenario is most evident on most of the faces you see on over streets today. It is dishearten to note that many could not afford two square meals per day. POVERTY INDICATORS AND PRIORITY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA The phenomenon of poverty has for some time now been of great concern to many nations, rich and poor alike. As a result, poverty reduction strategies have been the centre-stage of development programmes. Poor nations are more eager than ever before to get out of poverty while the rich nations are increasingly aware of the need to promote security through poverty reduction. Perhaps the best way to appreciate the importance of the concern, is to place it in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2000. According to the United Nations (UN), the development goals set out in the Millennium Declaration express the resolve of the worlds political leaders to free their fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing
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conditions of extreme poverty, to make the right to development a reality for everyone and to free the entire human race from want (UN, 2000:8). Traditional poverty analysis makes use of certain indicators. The most commonly used and understood is a poverty line. This according to the National Bureau of Statistics (2005) has become the standard tool of policy makers for poverty monitoring. In poverty line, people are counted as poor when their measured standard of living falls below a minimum acceptable threshold. Various indicators used to define this minimum level of welfare include: e.g. food energy in-take, dollar per day, subjective measure etc and much controversy surrounds the choice of poverty line. Whatever methods used to define this threshold, the poverty line is a relatively arbitrary divider of poor and non-poor. Rural development is a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of the people in the rural areas. The major objective of rural development therefore encompasses improved productivity, increased employment and thus high income for target groups as well as improved qualities in the basic needs of life which include food, shelter, job opportunities, health services, education, and improved attitudes such as political behaviour. Rural development has become a national imperative in Nigeria like most countries in Africa. A number of reasons can account for this. Firstly and most obviously, the majority and usually the overwhelming majority of the people live and find their livelihoods in the rural areas. Okoye (1992) also reported that the development of rural areas in Nigeria is now being stressed by the Federal, State and Local government because of the realization that the previous urban based development from above strategies adopted in Nigeria so far, have proved counterproductive. Okoye maintained that the urban and rural areas are in systemic symbiotic relationships and any meaningful development strategy, must take cognizance of the fact that the unwholesome phenomenon of rural urban dichotomy in the national landscape connotes underdevelopment. Moreover, it is no longer argued that many of the problems of the urban areas are traceable to the inadequacies in the rural areas.

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Another reason for rural development relates to the democratic policy of the federal government which has sought to achieve a balance in the development of the different sectors of the economy and the various geographical areas of the country. According to Muoghalu (1992) rural development has also been given a boost by the growing emphasis on self-reliance, especially in the face of dwindling foreign exchange receipts to service the import sector. This has acquired increased political content as independence means nothing if we have to depend on external sources to sustain the nation in basic food items and industrial raw materials. Ultimately, there is the compelling need to integrate the rural areas of the country into the mainstream of national development politically, socially and economically and for this mobilization, rural development is a potent factor.

A BRIEF REVIEW OF POVERTY REDUCTION MEASURES IN NIGERIA Poverty reduction measures consist of series of purposive acts and measures designed to address poverty problem through the provision of basic needs such as health services, education, water supply, food, minimum nutrition requirements and housing among others. The National Planning Commission (2005) however, observed that the response of various administrations to the poverty problem appears to have been largely unplanned and uncoordinated. A recent survey of the Commission on policies and interventions chronicles 28 federal projects and programmes with poverty reduction thrusts. Such poverty reduction efforts include: Rural Electrification Schemes, Credit Schemes to small holders through various specialized institutions such as Peoples Bank, Agricultural and Cooperative Development Bank, Community Banks, National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Credit Schemes, the Family Economic Advancement Programmes (FEAP), Universal Primary Education Schemes and Low Cost Housing Schemes. Others include: Transport Schemes such as the Urban Mass Transit, Health Schemes such as Primary Health Care

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Programme, the activities of the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Better Life for Rural Women Programme as well as the Family Support Programme (FSP). More recent programmes include the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) as well as the small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS). While none of these programmes was completely without merit, none of them had a significant lasting or sustainable positive effects due largely to; poor coordination, absence of a comprehensive framework, excessive political interference, ineffective targeting of the poor, leading to leakage of benefits to unintended beneficiaries, unwieldy scope of programmes, which caused resources to be thinly spread across too many projects, overlapping functions, which led to institutional rivalry and conflicts, absence of sustainability mechanisms in programmes and projects and lack of involvement of beneficiaries in the project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. In other words, constraints to poverty reduction measures can be overcome through strong political will and good governance with determination of the Nigerian government commitment and effort in providing adequate, affordable and quality houses for all income groups, with emphasis on low cost houses for the rural areas. HOUSING PROVISION Housing is defined as the process of providing safe, comfortable, attractive, functional affordable and identifiable shelter in a proper setting within a neighbourhood, supported by continuous maintenance of the built environment for the daily living activities of individuals/families within the community while reflecting their socio-economic, cultural aspirations and preferences. In addition, housing includes the sustainability attributes of energy efficiency and resource conservation for improved quality of life. This definition is more applicable and acceptable to piecemeal housing. National Housing problems cannot be solved through piecemeal housing. This definition however remains valid as long as individuals continue to build their own houses. Housing, in all its ramifications, is more than mere shelter, since it embraces all the social services and utilities that go to make a community or neighborhood a liveable

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environment. The problems of housing in Nigeria are enormous and complex, exhibiting marked regional differences. Furthermore, the challenges faced by the rapid rate of uncontrolled and unplanned urban growth are immense. Millions of people who are lucky to find a shelter live in sub-standard and sub-human environment characterized by slum, squalor and grossly inadequate social amenities. The situation becomes pitiable when it is realized that an estimate of 18million units housing shortfall is currently experienced in Nigeria (Oxford Business Group 2011 cited in Bala, 2013). The provision of adequate housing that is safe, secure, accessible, affordable and sanitary is a fundamental human right, as enshrined in the United Nations Habitat Agenda - the global call on human settlements. Housing has been universally accepted as the second most important human need. It is a basic need for human survival and an essential component to the advancement of the quality of life of the citizenry. This universally accepted fact has been acknowledged by successive Nigerian Governments, as evident from the pockets of uncoordinated initiatives and programmes in mass housing development over the years. Despite these efforts, housing delivery remains a mirage and major challenge to the sustainable development in Nigeria as a developing nation. In this regards, the way forward is social housing provision. SOCIAL HOUSING The term social housing also known as subsidized housing is government supported accommodation for people with low to moderate incomes (http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/subsidized_housing). Social housing could also be rental housing, owned and managed either by the State or non- profit organizations, or a combination of the two. It also includes affordable housing, community housing or cooperative housing. Most housing providers subsidized housing for: less privileged people, people suffering from domestic violence, homeless people, mentally or physically challenged people, or aged people. To meet the goals of social housing, many governments promote the construction of affordable housing. (http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/subsidized_housing). Social housing helps to make housing more affordable which can be tenant based subsidies given to an individual household; project based

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subsidies given to the owner of housing units that must be rented to lower income households at affordable rates; and operated by the government and by subcontracted private agencies. TYPES OF SOCIAL HOUSING There are different types of social housing which includes direct housing subsidies, non-profit housing, public housing, rent supplements and some forms of cooperative, community and private sector housing. However, for the purpose of this paper, non-profit housing, cooperative or community housing and private housing will be discussed. Non-profit Housing: Non-profit housing is owned and managed by private non-profit groups such as churches, ethno-cultural communities or by government. Non-profit housing uses private funding and government subsidies to support a rent-geared to income program for low income tenant. This will assist in boosting housing availability for the less privileged, aged people and homeless people respectively in Nigeria. Cooperative or Community Housing: Cooperative housing is real property controlled by members of the cooperative, which is run by a board of directors. There is no outside landlord. All residents of the cooperative must become members and agree to follow certain by-laws. Residents pay a monthly charge that is set by the cooperative in its annual budget. In some countries cooperatives get government funding to support a rent-geared-to-income program for low income residents. In addition to providing affordable housing, some cooperative serve the needs of specific communities, including aged people with disabilities.

(http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/subsidized_housing). Private Sector Housing: it is subsidized housing by the government. This could be in form of low cost housing or supplement to the builder, owner or tenant. Low cost housing can be achieved by exploring the option of utilizing locally available building materials and the use of indigenous technology.

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SOME GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL HOUSING FINANCE The advocates of social housing are of the view that housing is a necessity of life which will not only affect the productivity of individual but bad housing can also have negative physical and mental impact upon its inhabitants and negative externalities on the society as a whole. Since unregulated market mechanism cannot produce results which will entirely meet social needs and political objectives, they argue that government should intervene in the housing market. (Bello and Bello, 2006). The provision of social housing constitutes above all one means of assuring that access to decent housing is not limited by personal resources (Oxely, 1999). In the United States, the Federal Government provides subsidies to make housing more affordable. Financial assistance is provided for home owners through the mortgage interest tax deduction and for lower income households through housing subsidy programs. In Canada also, the Social Housing Services Corporation (SHSC) is a leader in providing group services for social housing providers. SHSC was created in the province of Ontario in 2002 to provide group service for social housing providers (public, non-profit and cooperative housing) following the downloading of responsibility for over 270,000 social housing units to local municipalities. It is a non-profit corporation governed by a board of municipal, non-profit and cooperative housing representatives. Its mandate is to provide Ontario housing providers and service managers with bulk purchasing, insurance, investment and information services that add significant value to their operatives.

(http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/affordable_housing). APPLICATION OF SOCIAL HOUSING PRINCIPLE IN NIGERIA The Nigeria housing industry has been adversely affected by poverty, aggravated by the high cost of building materials, rapid population growth etc. thus, judging from the extensive housing demand in qualitative and quantitative terms in Nigeria; there is need for a revolutionary strategy involving nonmarket and non-profit measures. Social housing provides this option. Thus within the socio-economic and cultural environment of the country coupled with the best practices in other countries as a guide,

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the social housing principle can become operational within the objective and strategic framework. In this regard, it is hereby suggested that the objectives of social housing provision in Nigeria will be to improve significantly the well-being of the poor, the needy and other vulnerable groups in the society, particularly in the rural areas such as women, single mothers, the elderly, widows and widowers, the physically challenged, the homeless, and a critical mass of the citizens who fall into this group; provide a sustainable way of reducing the housing deficit in the country, estimated at about 18 million units nationwide, as at 2013; facilitate socio-economic development and unlock other complementary benefits to the economy in the realm of wealth creation, employment generation, stimulation of investment flows and value-addition arising from the use of alternative building materials and adoption of home-grown technologies; promote the delivery of housing with secure tenure and facilitate access to funding of social housing from a variety of sources, including social housing financiers, donors, philanthropists, governments and other interested parties; reduce rural-urban migration, and stem the consequential loss of precious rural assets and human capital, such as farmers and the youth, towards optimising the contribution of the rural areas to national development. As part of the strategies to achieve the objectives, consideration shall be given to the following: ownership schemes, including cooperative ownership schemes; rental schemes; co-ownership schemes; encouragement of private sector involvement through public private partnership (PPP) home improvement schemes; use planning approvals to mandate the private housing developers and Government to set aside a stipulated percentage of their developments for social housing; settlement schemes; on-site upgrading; building in stages or extendable units; neighbourhood upgrading; and the incorporation of micro-enterprises (such as agro-allied ventures) in the housing scheme with a view to
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generating employment opportunities and enhancing the ability of the beneficiaries to repay their loans at reasonable periods with less strain. CONCLUSION In conclusion, it could be seen that a new thinking in the direction of social housing will be a viable strategy for rural development in Nigeria. It will also help in employment generation, reduce poverty, reverse rural-urban migration and create sense of belonging to the people. In order to alleviate the problems of housing and orderly development of rural areas, it is expected that Government shall promote measures to: conserve rural environment for sustainable development in rural housing provision; encourage employment generation and promote social housing to address the needs of rural dwellers; encourage research into rural planning so as to develop and promote appropriate models of rural settlement; encourage and popularise the use of local building materials in all building construction projects; promote the formation of housing cooperatives and housing associations in the rural areas as a means of providing access to credit facilities; empower the rural dweller by way of deliberately introducing economic activities in the rural areas; include traditional and innovative responses to meeting the housing needs of rural dwellers

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Bala Kabir (2013). Transformation Agenda, Sustainability and the Built Environment. Lead paper presented at the 2nd National Conference organised by the school of Environmental Studies, Yaba College of Technology. 12th June, 2013. Boelhouwer, P. and Van der Heijden, H. (1992) Housing Systems in Europe, Part 1: A Comparative Study of Housing Policy. Delft: Delft University Press. Bramley, G.; Bartlett, W; and Lambert, C. (1995). Planning, the Market and Private Housebuilding . London: UCL Press. Carmona, M.; Carmona, S. and Gallent, N. (2003). Delivering New Homes. Processes, Planners and Providers. London: Routledge. Crook, A., Monk, S., and Rowley, S. (2006). Planning gain and the supply of new affordable housing in England: Understanding the numbers. The Town Planning Review, 77(3), 353-73. Doling, J. (1997). Comparative Housing Policy: Government and Housing in Advanced Industrialized Countries. New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc. Eboh, E. C. (1995). Sustainable development: the theory and implications for rural Nigeria. In E. C. Eboh. C. U. Okoye and D. Ayichi (Eds.); Rural Development in Nigeria: Concepts, Processes and Prospects. Enugu: AutoCentury Publishing Company. Kemeny, J., Kersloot, J. and Thalmann, P. (2005). Non-profit Housing Influencing, Leading and Dominating the Unitary Rental Market: Three Case Studies. Housing Studies, 20(6), 855872. Lawrence, R.J. (2004): Housing and Health. From interdisciplinary principles to transdiciplinary research and practice, futures 36, 487-502. Maclennan, D. and More, A. (1997). The Future of Social Housing: Key Economic Questions. Housing Studies, 12(4), 531-547. National Bureau of Statistics (2005). Poverty Profile for Nigeria. Lagos. Ogidefa, I. (2010). Rural development in Nigeria: concept, approaches, challenges and prospect. http://socyberty.com/issues/rural-development-in-nigeria-concept-approaches-challenges-andprospcct/. Retrieved on March 22, 2010. Olaseni, A.M. (2004): Rural Development Planning in Nigeria. Concept Publications Oxley, M. (2000). The Future of Social Housing: Learning from Europe . London: Institute for Public Policy Research. Poverty Profile in Nigeria (2010) Priemus, H., and Dieleman, F. (1999). Social housing finance in the European Union: developments and prospects. Urban Studies, 36, 623-632. Skifter Andersen, H. and Munk, A. (1994). The Welfare State versus the Social Market Economy Comparison and Evaluation of Housing Policies in Denmark and West Germany with Special Importance Attached to Social Housing and Rent Control. Scandinavian Housing and Planning Research, 11(1), 1-25. Tsenkova, S. (2007). Provision of Affordable Housing in UNECE Countries: Policies and Practices . Nairobi: United Nations-HABITAT. Tsenkova, S. (2009). Housing Policy Reforms in Post Socialist Europe: Lost in Transition . Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. World Bank (2000) World Development Report 2000/1 (chapter 7: Building up Assets), Washington, DC: World Bank. http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/subsidized_housing http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/affordable_housing

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