International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Volume 3 Issue 2, February 2014 www.ijsr.net An Assessment of Residential Quality of Life in Old Port Harcourt Township of Port Harcourt Municipality Ebiwari Wokekoro 1 , Opuenebo Binya Owei 2 1 Department of Estate Management, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, PMB 5080, Port Harcourt 2 Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, PMB 5080, Port Harcourt Abstract: This study has assessed urban residential quality of life in two neighbourhoods of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria – that is from the oldest part of the city, which dates back to colonial times. The study set out to ascertain residents’ perception of neighbourhood attributes, residential quality of life as whole and the variables considered by residents to be the most important to enhance residential quality of life. Neighbourhood attributes were studied in situ without experimental manipulation and at one period in time, i.e. the study adopted a passive-observational research design. The study utilized both secondary and primary data sources. Primary data was collected using face-to-face administration of a largely pre-coded household questionnaire, to a probability sample of 193 respondents, drawn from the 2 neighbourhoods. Data analysis was based on responses from 193 questionnaires retrieved and the univariate analytical method was adopted. The study found, that residential quality of life in Port Harcourt Municipality was low with garbage on the streets and neighbourhoods. There was no street lighting in the neighbourhoods, periodic flooding occurring in the neighbourhoods. The study further revealed that 35.8% of the residents in the neighbourhoods were unhappy with their residential quality of life and 59.1% of the residents perceived their neighbourhoods to be of medium quality. A key conclusion of the study was that the improvement of neighbourhood residential conditions as perceived by the residents was important in raising residential quality of life, and recommendations included that in the provision of public infrastructure and services , the perceptions and preferences of the beneficiaries/target population must be taken into account to achieve user satisfaction. Keywords: Residential, quality, life, Perception, Neighbourhood 1. Introduction The concept, Quality of Life, encompasses the basic conditions of life, including adequate food, shelter, and safety, as well as “life enrichers”, which are based on the individual’s values, beliefs, needs and interests (WHO-IACCID, 2000). Measuring quality of life means that we value quality within people’s lives and that we want to maintain and/or enhance the things that already, or could, add quality to people’s lives. It also infers that we want to take action to improve the things that currently detract from quality of people’s lives (WHO- IACCID, 2000). The search for quality of life, particularly in the city, has occupied post-industrial and predominantly urbanized societies (such as the United States of America and Great Britain) for more than 40 years. This has led to initiatives to measure the concept in urban areas (Senecal, 2002) who argued that, the concept of quality of life, as applied to the urban environment, is usually understood in two ways. The first concerns the living environment and involves the patterns of advantages, disadvantages and opportunities that affect each citizen through accessibility to services, facilities and amenities. Other elements of the living environment include economic vitality and social equity, which encapsulate an infinite number of specific issues, notably, the quality and affordability of housing. The second approach relates to the natural environment in urban spaces. This approach holds that such factors as air, water, soil quality; and the amount of available green space affect the ways we live (Senecal, 2002). Senecal (2002) added that other aspects that may be used to identify quality of life include aesthetic value, satisfaction with one’s home, and patterns of governance and there are also issues of perception that take into account people’s experiences in the city, the routes they travel, and the sensory quality of their surroundings. Nowadays, cities have become the target of quality of life measurement since they exhibit contemporary culture, ranging from technological development to social progress. Indeed, the process of urban planning and management is aimed at raising quality of life, especially with regard to improvement of facilities and services that fulfil socio-economic needs such as education, health, housing, entertainment, and safety (Discoli, et. al., 2006). Port Harcourt, one of Nigeria’s major cities, has been experiencing rapid urbanization since its inception in 1913. The city has grown from 5,000 persons in 1915, two years after its inception, to 79,634 in 1953, and to 179,563 in 1963 (Ogionwo, 1979). The 1991 census gave the city’s population as 440,399 and the 2006 census fixed it at 541115. The population was projected from the census figure of 2006 to a projected population of 963,373 in 2010 assuming linear growth and an average annual growth rate of 5.2%. This level of population growth has meant considerable spatial Paper ID: 02013940 326