Non-adherence to the residential private open space to building footprint coverage regulations in Lagos state: a research-evidenced need for introspection

Residential private open spaces are instrumental to the creation of pleasant residential environments, contributing to the individual character, identity, and appearance of the residential area. Therefore, the problem of inadequate percentage of the residential private open spaces prevents the urban residential environment from attaining city sustainability. This problem is rooted in the non-adherence to building regulation standards especially in cities in Nigeria. In metropolitan Lagos, a study of three selected medium density residential estates reveals a non-adherence to the building regulation for the private open space to building footprint coverage ratios in the residential estates. The research method used in this study is methodological triangulation employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The sampling is based on multistage cluster sampling, and the data collection tools were high resolution satellite imagery, survey (through the administration of questionnaires). The results of the study reveal that in the medium density residential estates, a typical spatial pattern of the residential private open spaces from imagery classification data and ground truth data have ratios that indicate 70% of the Residential lot is for building footprint coverage while 30% is reserved for private open space as opposed to the specification by the Lagos state building regulation which specifies that 60% should be reserved for building footprint coverage and 40% for private open space. In conclusion, it is imperative that there be an introspection and a possible review of the Lagos state building regulation in the face of 21^st century realities of the Lagos metropolitan population demands.