Residential Location Choice: A Study of Household Preferences in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

Planners and policymakers are becoming more concerned with how to quantify the factors that affect households' decisions about where to live among Minna people as a result of concerns about the quality of urban life in cities. The study therefore examines the factors that determine resident’s choice of location in Minna, Nigeria, from the perspective of residential densities. In achieving this, the research methodology adopted Multistage sampling technique for cluster sampling. Simple Random Sampling was then used in each cluster for the administration of 588 questionnaires in the study area in order to assess the various attributes in choice of location. The data obtained was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and MS Excel, thereafter, the results were presented in tables. The study therefore established that residential density and attribute of households is a critical factor that influence the RLC of households. Households residing in high density neighbourhoods pay more attention to economic (3.98) and transport (3.80) factors, while households in low density neighbourhoods do not consider economic (2.23) and transport (2.37) factor as a significant factor in RLC. The study also revealed that there is no significant relationship between the three residential densities regarding factors influencing RLC. The study therefore concludes that factors influencing RLC is not generic in space and hence can be affected by neighbourhood density and income levels of households.