Assessment of University Campus Spatial Quality and Student Movement Patterns at the University of Ilorin

University campus spatial quality influences student wellbeing, academic performance, sense of community, and everyday movement behaviour, making its assessment a valuable exercise for both facilities management and campus master planning. This study assesses spatial quality and student movement patterns on the University of Ilorin main campus through behavioural mapping, space syntax analysis, and structured observation. Behavioural mapping was conducted at twenty-seven outdoor campus spaces on three weekdays and one weekend day, recording the number, gender, and activity type of space users at ninety-minute intervals. Space syntax analysis was applied to the campus pedestrian network, calculating integration and choice values for each route segment to model movement prediction. A questionnaire survey administered to two hundred students collected self-reported route preferences, spatial quality perceptions, and barrier experiences. Results show a strong correlation between space syntax-predicted pedestrian movement potential and observed activity density, validating the analytical approach. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences plaza and the Central Mosque forecourt emerged as the highest-activity social spaces, exhibiting the highest spatial integration values on campus. The Engineering faculty compound showed the lowest outdoor activity despite high student enrolment, attributed to the absence of shaded seating and the spatial disconnection of its buildings from main movement routes. Female students expressed significantly lower comfort in poorly lit evening routes between residential halls and faculty areas. The study recommends targeted improvements to shade provision, seating, and route lighting in low-activity zones, and proposes a space syntax-informed framework for subsequent University of Ilorin campus development planning. Keywords: campus spatial quality, space syntax, University of Ilorin, behavioural mapping, student environment.