Abstract:
This study examined the environmental impact of urbanization on land use compatibility and
environmental quality in Port Harcourt Metropolis. The study adopted the multi-method
research, integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches through the convergent mixed
method technique, where 399 household heads were selected from 189,317 household heads
using the Taro Yamane formula. Questionnaires and checklists were administered to the
household heads and ten (10) key informants respectively. Descriptive statistics, critical
informant content analysis, and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques were
employed for data presentation and analysis for the study. Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA)
was employed to test stated hypothesis for the study. The findings revealed numerous
environmental changes resulting from land use/land cover change activities in the area to include
deforestation, which accounted for 20.5%, degradation, which represented 19.7%, forest
degradation corresponding to 19.7%, generation of waste causing pollution, accounting for 20%
and decrease in environmental quality corresponding to 20.1% of the total sampled population of
the study. Additionally, the impact of urbanization on environmental quality were revealed as
flooding, which accounted for 11% of the sampled respondents as well as air pollution,
representing 10.8%. Others ecological disaster (8.7%), waste disposal damping (8.9%), land use
incompatibility (7.4%), slum developments and urban heat island (9.6%), land use conflict
(8.1%), reduced wetland (8.4%), environmental degradation (7.4%), land use conversion (6.8%),
overcrowding of buildings (7.1%) and habitat contamination (7.9%). The study concludes that
rapid urbanization has significantly impacted land use compatibility and environmental
sustainability in Port Harcourt metropolis. It is therefore recommended amongst others that the
government should implement stringent urban development control measures to regulate land
use and ensure sustainable urban growth as well as establish policies that limit haphazard
expansion and promote planned development. |
