Dimensions of Urban Poverty in Slum Neighbourhoods of Yenagoa City, Bayelsa State

Authors: Ikposo T, Brown I* and Oscar LA

DOI: 10.23880/jeesc-16000113

Volume 2, Issue 1

Abstract

Urban poverty and slum development have become a reoccurring social phenomenon in urban societies of developing economies. The study aims to assess urban poverty in slum neighbourhoods of Yenagoa City, Bayelsa State. The objectives include identifying the characteristics of slum dwellers in the study area; ascertaining the dimension of urban poverty in the study area; assessing the impact of urban poverty in slum neighbourhoods and identifying measures aimed at reducing urban poverty in the study area. The study adopted a mixed-methods research approach. A total of 397 sample sizes were arrived at using the Taro Yamane formula at a 5% precision level. Only 380 questionnaires were retrieved, collated, and analysed using univariate statistics. The study found that urban poverty is high in the study leading to an increase in crime, insecurity, and poor tenure security affecting residents’ environmental conditions. The study recommends that the Bayelsa State Government and local governments should collaborate with international donor agencies and NGOs to provide appropriate skills acquisition and training programmes, and institute schemes to develop the skills of residents to be self-reliant, provide basic infrastructure, facilities, and services in all the neighbourhoods to improve the quality of life and encourage residents to diversify into other sources of income. The government should collaborate with security agencies and communities to establish community policing to improve security architecture and crime prevention strategies in the study area.

Keywords: Urban; Poverty; Slum Development; Neighbourhoods; Yenagoa

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