ABSTRACT
The rising land use challenges in the urban built up areas has become a worrisome phenomenon. Planned urban land uses are spontaneously losing out to chaotic and incompatible ones due to unprecedented increase in population with a corresponding increase in the demand for land to contain other diversifying human activities. Gwarinpa Estate, built and managed by the Federal Housing Authority is fast losing its beauty and national pride at alarming rate of land use conversion most of which takes place with little or no planning input as most of them are not compatible. This research was conducted in order to evaluate the effect of land use non-compliance activities in Gwarinpa estate. The study area was stratified into seven (7) strata and thirty seven (37) questionnaires were administered in each stratum through stratified simple random techniques, making a total of 260 questionnaires, including 11 questionnaires provided for FHA officials. The research determined the level of land use compliance in Gwarinpa Estate. The research findings indicated that the estate is predominantly a residential neighbourhood with a total land area of 1,048.0 hectares out of which 57.2% is residential use, 21.1% is for transportation, 11.2% for commercial use and 7.8% is allocated to institutional uses while 1.4% and 1.3% of the land is budgeted for recreation and religious uses respectively. It was also found from the study that 26.9% of the estate land has under gone some form of changes while 73.1% maintain their initial uses. It was further established that only 67.1% of the total land use converted was legal while 37.9% was a mere contravention. The research disclosed a number of factors influencing land use compliance including lack of effective communication between the authorities and the land owners. Others include officials’ corruption, nepotism, political interference in land use control and land use conversion activities and population pressure amongst others. The study concludes that land use conversion in Gwarinpa is alarming and requires urgent attention. It is recommended among other things that effective communication among planners and property owners as well as provision of central markets be ensured. It is therefore hope that adequate attention will be given to the issues highlighted herein this report.