INTEGRATING RESIDENTIAL HOUSING SATISFACTION ATTRIBUTES INTO NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING IN ELDORET MUNICIPALITY, KENYA

Abstract

Sustainable provision of good quality residential housing in urban environments has remained to be one of the major challenges facing urban planning today. Scarcity of land, lack of coordination between key stakeholders, tedious housing planning approval processes, lack of societal equity and fairness in metropolitan housing, rural-urban migration leading to rapid urban growth among other drivers, have made it almost impossible for planners to create a balance between the three pillars of sustainability that is social, economic and environment. Satisfaction studies have been one of the dominant areas of research in social psychology with areas of research including consumer satisfaction and job satisfaction dominating the discipline. These researches were based on the conception that understanding peoples’ satisfactory evaluation of a product or service will serve to bring forth improvements to the product or service. Residential studies were first introduced in the western countries during the sub-urban development and housing boom period of the 1950s and early 1960s. The studies were meant to guide the upcoming housing improvement, living forms and principal urban reconstruction through shanty town redevelopment programmes. This study sought asses levels of residential satisfaction, determine the relationship between selected housing attributes, household socio-economic characteristics and residential satisfaction and to determine the extent of compliance to selected residential planning standards. The study was conducted in Elgon View, Kimumu and Munyaka neighbourhoods of Eldoret Municipality. The data was collected using survey, mapping, measurement and observation techniques. The data was analysed using SPSS version 26 and ArcGis 10.5. Descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression were used to analyse data in line with the objectives. Eldoret Municipality was found to have a moderate level of residential satisfaction. Neighbourhood hygiene, public security, number of rooms in a dwelling unit, environmental aesthetics, age, marital status, employment, income and house tenure were found to be significant determinants of residential satisfaction. There was 100% compliance to plot size and number of dwelling units per lot planning standard. On access road width, plot coverage and skyline, there was 11.8%, 57.72% and 89.84% compliance respectively. Building line compliance that is front, side and rear had 81.3%, 66.3% and 36.2% compliance respectively. It was concluded that planners should develop plans in a way to lower housing density in neighbourhoods, enhance neighbourhood hygiene, enhance public security and to enhance environmental aesthetics so as to improve residential satisfaction.