DETERMINANTS OF RESIDENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE IN NEIGHBOURHOODS OF MINNA METROPOLIS, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Cities around the world grow organically and their management requires some well researched indicators that will guide the spatial and cities planning policies for sustainable wellbeing of the inhabitants. A city’s quality of life (QoL) depends relatively to its environment and infrastructures provided in the city. In this context, this study through survey examined the determinants of QoL of residents of Minna metropolis. From the extant literature, four major factors were extracted: physical, environmental, social, and institutional factors. Based on this, a questionnaire survey was developed to obtain views from the residents of Minna. Out of six hundred and ten (610) questionnaires distributed across ten major neighbourhoods of Minna Metropolis, a total of four hundred and twenty-one (421) responses was achieved. Analysis of data through Pearson Product Moment Correlation and multiple regression revealed that physical factor (r = 0.732** p˂0.01), environmental factor (r = 0.381** p˂0.01), social factor (r = 0.405** p˂0.01) and institutional factor (r = 0.297** p˂0.01) positively correlated respectively with quality of life. The regression analysis shows that the independent variables statistically significantly predict the dependent variable, F (4, 409) =226.419, p < .0005. The four factors combined accounted for 68.6% variance in the prediction of quality of life in the study area. The two most potent factors were physical (β = 1.319, t = 26.116, P = 0.000) and environmental (β = -0.550, t = -9.828, P = 0.000) factors. This implies that to impact positively on the QoL of residents in the study area, the results of this study should be prioritized by the policy makers for sustainable development. A scientific element of originality in this research is evident in the QoL framework developed.