CREATING AFFORDABLE LOW-RISE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING IN GREATER PORTHARCOURT CITY, NIGERIA

In the past decade, the Nigerian economy has deterred to the point where the poverty rate has increased astronomically and the basic necessities of life such as housing have become scarce and sometimes inaccessible to a great percentage of her citizens. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria is currently the poverty capital of the world with about 40% of the population living on less than $1 a day. With increasing population and migration for white collar jobs in the cities, housing demand has increased beyond the reach of the government. However, housing is recognized as a human right by the UN-Habitat, yet Nigeria’s low-income households struggle with finding adequate shelter that does not leave them in financial difficulty. Affordable housing globally, impacts the economy of countries by increasing local purchasing power, job creation and tax revenue. This paper investigated the strategies that can be adopted to save costs in the construction of affordable housing considering three building components: the exterior shell, interiors, and services and how innovations in design and construction can reduce the costs of multifamily housing in the Greater Port Harcourt city, Rivers state, Nigeria. Literature on affordable housing and the possible strategies in achieving affordable housing were reviewed and interviews were conducted for professionals in the building industry, who answered few questions identifying that asides the availability and employment of new techniques and materials in these projects, the competence of team members is important. It was suggested that close coordination across the project team throughout a given project period is important to deliver high-quality, environmentally responsible apartments at cheaper costs and future proposals on affordable housing should have complementary facilities that will foster social interaction between users while creating convenience for these users. The policy choices by federal, state, and local governments contributes to the level at which the cost of building affordable housing increases. Constructing safe, healthy, and visually appealing apartments at lower costs in Greater Port Harcourt city, Nigeria is possible, but will require better policies and best practices.