AN ANALYSIS OF THE LIVELIHOOD COPING STRATEGIES OF PERI-URBAN DWELLERS IN ENUGU URBAN, NIGERIA

Abstract

In African sub-sahara region, peri-urbanisation development has remained a steady phenomenon with its unplanned characteristics. Most recent studies on peri-urban development have centred on her self-governance, environmental impacts and impacts on agriculture. Little attention has be given in understanding the peri-urban dwellers’ livelihood coping strategies in this chaotic, difficult and challenging location. This paper aims to address this gap by analysing the livelihood coping strategies of peri-urban dwellers in a Nigerian urban city- Enugu. Survey research design was adopted in this study. The sample size of 816 was derived from a population of 3,986 registered households in the study areas. Simple random and cluster sampling techniques were used in this study to proportionately select the respondents. Principal Component Analysis was used to classify the livelihood coping strategies in the study area. Result showed classified the coping strategies adopted into four components and they were Home-Based Business (49.95%), Retail Trading (16.50%), Domestic Working (16.34%), and Street Trading (12.03%). The factors that influenced the identified coping strategies of these dwellers include age, sex, convenience, take-off capital, type of housing unit and space availability. The planning implication of these coping strategies is that the urban informal sector dynamics should be integrated into the modern urban planning practices and techniques. This has become imperative as the heat of the informal sector dynamics has come to stay. Daring efforts should be made by the government to accommodate them by integrating their needs in the future planning and control policies.