RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS VULNERABILITY TO COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN IBADAN, NIGERIA; BUILDING CODE AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Debauching building code, a regulated policy for development control in Ibadan is on the increase. Building setbacks create airspace between two buildings. Covid-19 virus are spread from person to person. Studies had linked compact housing development to disease spread, and had focused on sanitation law enacted to control development in Lagos province after 1924 bubonic plague, little attention had been paid to development control and airborne diseases in Nigeria. This study focused on building code and residential neighborhood vulnerability to infectious diseases spread (Covid-19 pandemic) in Ibadan. Concept of vulnerability drive the study. 1005 buildings in old quarters, estates and sprawl environments were sampled. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect primary data using structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and GIS were employed to analyzed collected samples, to identify neighborhood at risk of infectious diseases spread and hot spots in Ibadan. Distances between buildings in old quarters’ average (1.2m), estates, 6m, sprawling 3m. Covid-19 can airborne up to 2m when a victim sneezes or cough. Neighborhood in Old Quarters showed highest exposure to the spread of infectious diseases (55%), sprawling settlements (35%). Housing Estates (10%). Factors responsible for building code degradation in Ibadan are poverty, ineffective enforcement of development control and weak political will for policy implementation. Residents in old quarters and sprawling areas of the metropolis are more at risk of contracting airborne diseases and spreading covid-19 pandemic in Ibadan. Town Planners should ensure strict adherence to building code using development control tools in Nigeria urban centres.   Keywords: Buildings Code, Development Control, Infectious Diseases, Setback, Vulnerability