Public Perception of Residential Layout Facilities in Eagle Island, Port Harcourt
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The nature of design of a residential layout and the facilities therein make life either enjoyable or difficult for residents. It is therefore within the purview of this research to analyze public perception of residential layout facilities in eagle island, Port Harcourt. This study adopted the cross-sectional research design. The sources of data for the study came from both primary data and secondary data. The primary data were specifically derived with the use of questionnaire. The sample size for the study was 312 and a corresponding number of copies of the research instrument were administered. However, 282 copies of the questionnaire were successfully filled and retrieved. The Paired Sample T-test and simple percentage were used to analyze the data. Housing Quality Index (HQI) system was also used in the assessment facilities in the layout. Seven indicators were developed in assessing residential neighborhood quality. The indicators were schools, play and leisure parks, shopping area, support services, public water supply, and electricity supply. This study found that over half of the population surveyed are of the view that play and leisure park, schools, shopping area, support services, public water supply, electricity supply, waste collection centres are not available in the Eagle Island residential layout. Precisely, 59.8% of the 282 respondents are of this disposition. Furthermore, the study indicated that the mean score for respondents that say there is absence of schools, play and leisure parks, shopping area, support services, public water supply, and electricity supply is higher than those who feel the facilities exist. On the other hand, results obtained from the paired sample t-test table revealed that there is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the indicators available at Eagle Island as p-value (0.070) is greater than the critical level of = 0.05. Following the findings of the study, it is recommended that municipal government should invest in the development of infrastructure in residential neighbourhoods. It is also recommended that residential layouts should be protected from unplanned development as seen in the residential layout in focus.