Emphasizing the role of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in land use development towards achieving United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs)

Abstract

All human activities take place on land; making land related decisions crucial to national development. The success of private and public organisations depends strongly on the judicious use of land. Over the years, land use in Nigeria has suffered fundamental lapses resulting in deteriorating historical sites, waste, pollution, infrastructural inadequacy, housing deficit, insecure land tenure for the urban poor, environmental degradation, investment losses and other imbalances in land use. Estate Surveyors and Valuers have tied themselves to their traditional roles, making their role in land use development less impactful. This paper sets to concisely advance the roles of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in land use development towards achieving United Nations' sustainable development goals (focusing on goal 11 - sustainable cities and communities). The method of investigation is essentially a documentary and analysis of archival records, with a view of identifying the existing gaps in the role of Estate Surveyors in land use development. The roles of Estate Surveyors were identified in the following areas: citizen engagement, accountability, policy reform, service delivery, performance measurement, project financing, infrastructural development and maintenance, housing, valuation, land administration and other areas of concern. The paper concludes by developing strategies in making Estate Surveyors' roles impactful in land use development and policy formulation towards achieving sustainable cities and communities in Nigeria.