Urban Renewal as a Tool for Sustainable Urban Development in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

Urban renewal revitalises deteriorated urban areas through renovation, new public space, and better public services. This paper argues that renewal improves quality of life, and keeps the character of a place, only when economic and environmental measures are organised to serve social goals. Drawing on definitions of renewal, the main methods of intervention, and the Sants renewal in Barcelona, the paper sets out social requirements for renewal and the practices that undermine them. Displacement of low-income residents, loss of architectural heritage, and weak community input are treated as the principal issues for Nigerian application. A short set of measurement indicators is proposed so that socially sustainable renewal can be assessed rather than only described.