Whither Urban and Regional Planning? An investigation into the Popularity of and Satisfaction with Urban and Regional Planning as a course of Study among Secondary School and University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Neighbourhood ties is a concept that has received considerable interest recently due to its Probability of reducing insecurity,enhance community life, togetherness, and quality of life. Neighbourhood ties to some extent is a slippery concept and complex to quantify but can be measured by the strength of its influencing factors such as the degree to which people interact, trust one another and feeling of commitment. This study therefore assesses factors that influence neighbourhood ties in Minna. The study employed quantitative approach using structured questionnaire. A total of 420 residences were randomly sampled from eight (8) neighbourhoods in Minna. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to examine the factors that influence neighbourhood ties among residents. The study found that five (5) out of the six(6) factors examined influence neighbourhood ties among residents. The factors were sense of community, sense of belonging, neighbourliness, access to facilities/services and community engagement. The five factors have Eigenvalue >1and contributed a total of 74.71%cumulativevariance, each factor achieved level of reliability determined by the Cronbach's Alpha value >0.70. Sense of community (0.93), sense of belonging (0.89), community engagement (0.71). This study suggests that these factors determined by EFA have demonstrated a good reliability to assess neighbourhood ties among residents towards sustainable neighbourhood's development in Minna.