Author:
Muhammad Gidado Usman,Maulan Suhardi,Mohd Yusof Mohd Johari,Ibrahim Roziya
Abstract
Open spaces are an important feature of any neighborhood since they serve as a hub
for the community’s socio-cultural activities. According to the National Population
Commission, 64% of the population in northern Nigeria lives in rural areas and utilizes
outdoor spaces for their socio-cultural lives. The typology and ownership of rural open
spaces in north-western Nigeria have become major concerns for their impact on its
management. This research explores the typology and ownership of open space in rural
areas within north-western Nigeria to adduce the challenges facing its role in sustaining
the communities’ cultural values. Observation from five communities in the Batagarawa
local government. The study discovered a subconscious classification of rural open spaces
into the community and private open spaces, each with defined boundaries, and the study
also identified relevant stakeholders. As a result, the study suggests that the government
play a coordinating role in resolving any disagreements among stakeholders so that
open spaces can be better identified and the cultural values of these open spaces can be
preserved, and thus concludes that open space typology and ownership have become a
critical concern in sustaining the roles of open spaces in northern Nigeria’s semi-arid
region
Publisher
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Subject
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Nature and Landscape Conservation,Urban Studies,Geography, Planning and Development