Spatial Inequality in Access to Urban Services in Ibadan Metropolitan Area: A Multidimensional Analysis

Spatial inequality in urban service access reflects and reinforces social disadvantage in Nigerian metropolitan areas, yet multidimensional empirical analyses of service access inequality remain rare in the Nigerian planning literature. This study conducts a multidimensional analysis of spatial inequality in access to key urban services in Ibadan Metropolitan Area, covering water supply, primary healthcare, education, sanitation, and solid waste collection. Using a composite Urban Service Access Index constructed from GIS proximity analysis, service condition assessments, and household utilization surveys, inequality in service access is mapped across Ibadan's local government areas. Primary data from 450 household surveys document actual service access experiences. Spatial inequality is quantified using Gini coefficients and Lorenz curves applied to the composite index. Regression analysis identifies predictors of service access deficits, including settlement age, topography, income profile, and planning designation status. Findings are expected to reveal significant and compounding spatial inequality in service access, with peripheral and informal settlements experiencing the most acute multi-service deficits. The study examines how historical planning decisions have entrenched spatial inequalities through differential infrastructure investment patterns. Recommendations address development of a spatial equity planning standard for Ibadan, targeted infrastructure investment in identified lowest-access zones, equity impact assessments for all major urban development decisions, and monitoring of spatial service access inequality as a key metropolitan planning performance indicator. Keywords: Spatial inequality, Urban services, Ibadan, Service access, Multidimensional analysis.