Evaluation of Community Participation in Housing Development Programmes in Adamawa State

Community participation in housing development is a recognised principle of sustainable human settlement, and evaluating the quality and impact of participation in Adamawa State housing programmes informs more effective programme design for the North East geopolitical zone. This study evaluated community participation in three government-supported housing development programmes in Adamawa State: the National Housing Fund Programme, the Adamawa State Low-Cost Housing Scheme, and the Federal Integrated Staff Housing Scheme. Data were collected through structured interviews with 90 programme beneficiaries and 15 programme managers, supplemented by programme documentation review. Participation quality was assessed using the Arnstein Ladder of Participation adapted for housing programme evaluation. Results showed that community participation was rated at the tokenism level (informing and consulting) in all three programmes, with no instances of genuine partnership or community control observed. Programme design did not involve community input in any of the three programmes. Beneficiary satisfaction with programme housing quality averaged 2.7 out of 5, with inadequate unit sizes (mean: 47 m2 against a perceived need of 75 m2) the primary dissatisfaction driver. Community income levels and household sizes were not surveyed during programme design in any case. The study concludes that community participation in Adamawa State housing programmes is nominal rather than meaningful, and recommends community needs assessment and participatory design as prerequisite stages for all future public housing programmes in the North East zone.

Keywords: community participation, housing development, Adamawa State, participatory design, North East Nigeria