Civil and Environmental Research www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-5790 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0514 (Online) Vol.10, No.6, 2018 132 Patterns of User-Initiated Transformation of Dwelling Units in Selected Public Housing Estates in Lagos, Nigeria Dr. Kolawole O. MORAKINYO 1 , Dr. Adetokunbo O. ILESANMI 2 and Arc. Olusola A. ASA 3 1 & 3 Department of Architectural Technology, School of Environmental Studies, The Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria. 2 Department of Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Design and Management, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria ABSTRACT This study examined User-Initiated Transformation (UIT) in selected low-income public housing estates in Lagos, Nigeria with a view to providing information that could assist policy makers in more effective housing delivery. It employed a systematic sampling method to select 315 housing units out of 8938 units from 3 purposively selected estates for questionnaire administration, namely: Abesan (156 units), Isolo (128 units) and Iponri estates (31 units). The findings showed that 79.0% (233 out of 295 retrieved questionnaires) of respondents have transformed their houses one way or the other. The majority of residents (78.40%) engaged in transformation by slight adjustment, such as: painting, re-tiling, and installation of shading devices, burglar proof to openings, and fixtures and fittings. It was also observed that 5.28% transformed by addition of more spaces, 1.42 % by addition of doors and windows, 13.21% by addition of services, and 1.68% by total conversion; but there was no indication of transformation by total reconstruction. The study found that 48.3% and 76.0 % of the respondents were not satisfied with the original plan and level of adequacy of spaces of their houses respectively. These findings implied that the predominant patterns of UIT of dwelling units in the study area were due mainly to residents’ dissatisfaction with the level of adequacy of spaces, and with the original plan. The study concluded that greater attention needs to be given to users’ preferences through their participation in the decision-making process relating to the design and delivery of public housing. Keywords: dwelling units, physical transformation, user-initiated transformation (UIT), public housing, Lagos. INTRODUCTION Dwellers in public housing sometimes engage in alteration and extension activities aimed at adapting the dwellings to better suit their needs, or as a means of refurbishing housing in poor condition (Tipple et al, 2000; Kallus & Dychtwald, 2010). Understanding this phenomenon is a prerequisite to any attempt to provide more satisfactory housing environments and to improve living conditions in existing ones. Public housing represents a notable proportion of the housing stock in many developing countries (Sengupta & Tipple, 2007; Tipple, 2000a). Its shortcomings have been identified and examined in an attempt to investigate the possibilities of improvements in future projects (Mukhija, 2004; Turner et al, 2009). Habraken (1975) suggested that public housing may not satisfy the needs of the occupants because they are normally built without consulting the future occupants and it is unlikely for people to live satisfactorily within a fixed environment in which they had no input. Moreover, it is often difficult to pre-determine the totality of occupants’ requirements, as these would only become apparent through their activities in the dwellings. Perhaps due to this failure, in many instances, of public housing to respond to users’ needs, it is usual to see residents engage in informal transformations within the formal housing sector, through a variety of modifications – user-initiated transformation (UIT) – carried out in government-built housing projects (Sibley-Behloul, 2003). User-initiated transformation (UIT) contrasts with interventions in the form of Government-initiated neighbourhood renewal programmes to improve housing conditions and urban infrastructure (Elazar & Marom, 1992). As Salim (1998) observed, it is common for owner-occupiers, through their own initiatives and efforts, to alter or extend their houses in order to improve their housing conditions or meet the growing needs of their households. Tipple (2000a) notes that housing transformation in developing countries often involves modifications and extensions of the external and internal parts of dwelling units. Much of the transformation is done either by the residents themselves or by small-scale hired contractors and artisans using locally available materials and labour, and is often so extensive that the original dwelling units could hardly be recognized (Tipple, 2000b). Such user-initiated changes can provide useful models for future policies on public housing (Ward & Peters, 2007). It is therefore imperative to examine the modalities and motives behind UIT of dwelling units in public housing estates. This study is considered pertinent as it will increase the understanding of why and how some people effect alterations, extensions, modifications or additions to the original forms, extent, spatial configuration or uses of their housing units, and in some cases, their immediate environment. brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals