Characteristics, Challenges and Prospects of Informal Land Use Activities in Barkin Ladi Town, Nigeria

This paper examines the urban planning implications of informal sector activities in Barkin-Ladi Town, a post mining settlement in Plateau State, Nigeria. The objective of the paper is to examine the planning challenges posed by the informal sector activities and to make appropriate recommendations towards integrating and regulating such activities within the settlement. A total of 187 questionnaires were administered on three categories of informal sector activities in the area, while interviews were conducted with the staff of the Area Office of the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Town Planning and of the Works Department of the Barkin Ladi local government council, which is the planning authority. The research revealed that trading was the dominant informal activity being undertaken by 63% of the respondents, followed by cottage industries (14%) and tertiary services (23%). Planning challenges pose by informal activities included: change of use without planning approvals, encroachment on access roads, conflicting land uses, non-compliance with the relevant planning law on zoning. There were no spatial developmental plans or guidelines by the relevant planning authority to regulate the activities of informal sector activities. Environmental management challenges were lack of access to basic infrastructure, degradation of the urban environment, and insecurity of life and property. It is recommended that there is the need for planners to understand the valuable contributions of the informal activities to the local economy by integrating them in the spatial development frameworks through appropriate zoning, location, space management and regulatory policies. Basic infrastructure and services should be provided to enhance their productivity, while government and other stakeholders should improve access to loans, micro-finance, material resources and capacity building of informal participants. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/uspa Urban Studies and Public Administration Vol. 1, No. 1, 2018 14 Published by SCHOLINK INC.


Introduction
The problem of physical disorder and its attendant issues of unsustainable urban growth and environmental inadequacies are a clear manifestation of the failure of planners to recognize and incorporate certain aspects of urban activities into the land use allocation process and also to device appropriate tools of administering or managing them. Urban planning problems caused by the informal sector activities have remained a serious headache to countries that are aliens to modern planning tools and techniques (Jelili & Adedibu, 2006). Adeyinka, et al. (2006) with reference to Nigeria have observed the lack of official recognition of urban informal activities in the management of urban spaces and provision of basic infrastructure and services with the consequence of them spilling into any available space and location thereby contributing significantly to the chaos and disorder that is found in such areas. This is a common characteristic of most African cities (Komollo, 2010).
The irony is that the informal economy in the developing countries employs millions of people and provides the basis for their survival and livelihoods. The UN-Habitat (2007), estimates that more than half of the urban workforce in such countries operate in the informal sector as street vendors, barbers, beauticians, shoe shiners, cobblers and in other services. Informal employment makes up 70-95% of total employment including agriculture ( UN Habitat, 2016). With the rapid growth of African cities, it is expected that much of the growth in their economy will take place in the informal sector. The question as rightly asked by the UN Habitat is how this growth can take place and contribute positively to the economies of African cities and African urban poor when the sector is often seen in terms of disorder and illegality and mostly ignored and even demonized? This paper examines the significant growth that has occurred in Barkin Ladi town, a medium size urban area in Plateau State, Nigeria physically, in population and in its economy. Very little effort had been made to coordinate spatial and economic growth leading to the upsurge of informal commercial activities in very haphazard manner and creating challenges to urban planners and the residents. The objective of this paper is to examine the urban planning implications of the growth and location of informal sector activities in this post-mining settlement and to make appropriate recommendations for regulating and integrating such into the urban system. The specific objectives of the paper are a) to identify and classify informal activities in the town; b) examine their characteristics in terms of location, space, infrastructural and operational needs, c) examine the challenges that they pose and the influence of planning control if any for integration such activities into the urban system.
In this paper informal activities/sector and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are used interchangeably. This is for the simple reason that most SMEs fall within the informal sector of the economy and the literature often treat the concepts together. The UN-   informal sector as private unincorporated enterprises whose size in terms of employment is below a certain threshold to be determined according to national conditions and or which are not registered under specific form of national legislation, such as the factory act, or commercial acts, tax or social security laws, professional groups regulatory laws or regulation established by national legislative bodies and whose employees are not registered. The defining characteristics of the informal sector are: lack of governmental regulation, lack of institutions that provide job security and benefits; small and micro scale, etc. It has been pointed, however, that formal and informal sectors are a continuum and therefore it becomes even more difficult to define and categorise informal and formal urban activities.
The definition of SMEs varies from country to country and from one region to another (Onugu, 2003;Gibson & van de Vaart, 2008;SMEDAN & NBS, 2013;Yahaya et al., 2016). In Nigeria, SMEDAN (2013) has defined micro, small and medium enterprises based on employment and assets base. Micro enterprises employ less than 10 workers and have assets of less than N5 million (excluding land and buildings). Small enterprises employ 10 to 49 workers and have an asset base of between 5 to N50 million, while Medium enterprises employ 50 to 199 workers and with assets base of N50 to less than N500 million. The research has adopted a classification of informal activities based on three major types; trading, service or cottage industries which are basically unregulated.

Review of Relevant Literature
The UN-Habitat (2015) has observed that urbanization in developing countries is accompanied by growth in urban informal economies. The informal economy makes up a significant proportion of non-agricultural Gross Value Added (GVA). For example, 8-20% in transitional economies, 16-34% in Latin America, 17-34% in Middle East and North African region, 46% in India, and 46-62% in West Africa (see, UN-Habitat, 2015). In most developing countries informal employment accounts for more than half of non-agricultural employment. In low-income countries, informal employment makes up 70-95% of total employment (including agriculture), see Figure 1.  07 June 2016). SMEs accounted for 54% for jobs created, while the private and public sectors accounted for 37% and 9% respectively in 2013. Adeyinka et al. (2006) in their study of informal sector activities and urban land management in south western Nigeria have acknowledged that all human activities take place on land. Therefore, there is high demand for urban land and spaces to accommodate the ever growing need of the informal sector activities and other uses, such as housing, recreation, manufacturing, etc. Emmanuella (2011) in her study on the informal sector and the environment in Nigerian towns and cities concluded that people of low-income relied heavily on the informal sector for their survival. Since the formal sector lacked the capacity to absorb large number of labour force, the alternative sector known as the informal sector serves as the backup for the formal sector in employment generation (Onyemachi, 2011). Other Studies by Arosanyi, Olowosolu and Oyeyemi (2011) and Farinmade (2012), in Lagos established that there existed a relationship between employment in the informal sector and formal sector unemployment, illiteracy, environmental degradation and the rampant violation of planning regulations transportation infrastructure.

Government Policies on Small Business and Development in Nigeria
There was no coherent government policy for the development of small scale industries during the period of the first republic (1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966). Government intention then was to establish large scale industries. This led to the establishment of Industrial Development Centres (IDCs) in Owerri, and Zaria for the purpose of promoting small scale industrial development. The Second National Development Plan (1970Plan ( -1974 encourages the establishment of small scale industries and the introduction of credit schemes to channel funds to businesses. The Third National Development Plan (1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)  The current economic down turn in the country has negatively affected various sectors of the economy and compelled the Buhari government to formulate a comprehensive economic plan tagged Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020 to bring the country back to path of growth. The key policy thrust of the plan is industrialization focusing on SMEs-with government collaborating closely with businesses to deepen their investment in agriculture, power, manufacturing, solid minerals, and service sector and support private sector to become the engine of national economic growth. Other key areas of intervention are: stabilize the macroeconomic environment, promote agriculture and food security, energy (power and petroleum product sufficiency).

The Study Area
The study area, Barkin-Ladi (also called Gwol) is located 9032'00"N and 8054'00"E, lies about 50 km www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/uspa on the Jos-Mangu highway (see Figure 2). The town is situated on the Jos Plateau with an average height of 1,200 meters above sea level. The area is characterised of a large exposure of basement complex rocks and some volcanic rocks. The rocks contain large deposit of minerals such as tin (cassiterite) and columbite which have been mined on commercial scale since the beginning of the last century. Most of the mineral ores being alluvial deposits open cast (paddock) was the main method of exploitation of the ores (see Alexander, 1985). With the development of hydro electricity supply from Kura Falls in the 1920s, Barkin Ladi became a major area of mechanised tin mining on the Jos Plateau.
The town became a thriving small town since becoming a local government headquarters With the collapse of tin mining activities from the mid-1970s and the withdrawal of foreign mining companies, the economy of the town was transformed from being dependant on the tin industry to agriculture (the mining ponds provided water for dry season farming), trading and commerce and service industries (Mendie, 2010;Dung-Gwom 2012). In the past three or four decades, therefore, the informal economy has been the major source of employment and driver of the local economy. of informal commercial activities in the town, while sites where informal activities clustered in the town were mapped (see Table 1 and Figure 3). The primary data was collected through the administration of a questionnaire to 187 informal land use activities spread over the three major types (see Figures 4 to 6). Secondary data was sourced from published literature and desk top research. Data collected was analysed using the Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS). Further analysis was done using descriptive statistics for the quantitative data and presented in tables, graphs and charts, while the qualitative data from the interviews were summarized and conclusions deduced.

Categories of Informal Sector Activities in the Study Area
For ease of analysis, informal land use activities were categorized into three groups: trading and commerce; cottage industries; and services. This categorization was adopted based on studies of (Adeyinka et al., 2006;Mayat & Ruth, 2010;Opeyemi, 2014). (see , Tables 3 and 4) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/uspa

Reasons for Choice of Business Location
From Table 2, 42% of operators of informal sector activities locate their businesses in areas where they are likely to make more sales (proximity to market). Those that locate close to access roads constitute 22% of the informal activities. 16% of the activities located closed to liked-uses for complementarity.
Availability of space is another factor of location and was found to account for 12% for choice of location. Those that locate close to homes accounted for only 4.3% and chose this location so that they could pay less rent. From the foregoing, it could be inferred that locations with high potentials for making more sales were the points of attraction for the location of informal activities. The basic principle of retail is that retail follows people (customers) and so the propensity for its location near to high population areas, along major streets, road junctions, public offices and near to existing markets (see also, Komollo, 2010

Structures Used for Informal Sector Activities
Various structures were used for informal sector operations in Barkin-Ladi. On street display of goods was 30% (see plate 1). Those that used structures built with cement blocks constituted 21.5%, while those that sale their wares in open spaces were are 19.3% (see Plate 1). Those that had kiosks were 11.2% while those that used metal containers and wooden structures made up 9.0% percent respectively (see Plate 2). Some informal sector activities were also carried out on the verandas of residential buildings, on the street (street trading and tended to be mobile in nature). Information in Table 3 shows the different type of structures that housed informal activities. Over 90% of Cottage industries needed a built structure, either of cement blocks, metal or wood as against 40% for tertiary services and 28% for trading and commercial activities respectively.

Ownership of Space
Conflicting land uses developed as a result of the tendency of sharing space among informal sector participants. bout 71.1% or 133 of the participants conduct their activities on public/private land/properties, which is regarded as "illegal encroachment". Those that operate in rented spaces were 20.3 percent (38), while 8.5% (16)  activities. The only policy being that applicants were issued with temporary use permits to erect kiosk/shades for their activities. Such kiosk and shades must not be of permanent building materials as they could be dismantled within a 24 hours' notice. Informal sector activities are often forcibly evicted in breach of such notices on the claim of maintaining order and cleanliness. The problem is simply transferred elsewhere as such activities relocate to new areas within the town. This creates uncertainty and lack of security for informal activities.
There were no records of such temporary permits in the two organisations, which could indicate the sleeve that goes on. The provision of spaces to informal sector activities as a deliberate and effective measure of achieving planning control and mitigate the environmental problems associated with them was non-existent.

Environmental Effects of Informal Sector Activities
The informal sector activities in the study area cause some urban environmental problems which are shown in Table 4 participants have low educational attainment hence, their knowledge about environmental quality is rather low. Therefore, their waste disposal methods were very crude. This leads to poor sanitation, public health hazard and poor urban environment (see, also Opeyemi, 2014).  Note. Total number of response outnumbered the sample size because respondents were allowed to pick more than one option.

Priority Needs of Respondents
The priority needs of participants in the informal sector revealed that 16.4% of the respondents indicated they needed appropriate sites for their business; 15.2% wanted security of life and property, while 12.6% needed access to credit to enable them expand their businesses. 10.8% said they needed market infrastructures, such as lock-up shops, stalls, warehouses, parking spaces, drainages etc. to enable their businesses thrive better. Others indicated the security of tenure (11.9%). 9.4% wanted disposal bins and 8.5% needed rest rooms (toilet facilities) with 4.7 % wanting more firm control on the proliferation and location of informal activities by the government. It is inferred that most participants would prefer to operate their businesses in appropriate locations that are organised, well secured, have available facilities and with a little government interference. Results are shown on Table   5. The issue of security of live and property was significant because the Jos crisis had spilled into the country side and Barkin Ladi had witnessed communal strife and violence which had displaced many people and businesses. The town has remained quite mixed ethnically in spite of the crisis and enjoyed relative peace in the last two years. Note. Total number of response outnumbered the sample size because respondents are allowed to indicate more than one option.

Discussion: Challenges Posed by Informal Sector Activities
In 1981, Barkin Ladi was designated an urban area under the 1978 Land Use Act, and the implication is that the management of the town was to be under the state government rather than the local government. establishment and management of markets, collection and disposal of waste; management of motor parks and so on. The officials pointed out that due to poor funding and lack of qualified human resource, the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Town Planning and the local government's works department had not been able to do much in terms of urban planning and management and the regulation of informal activities.
As the town has grown over the last 20 to 30 years, there had been high demand for space and land for residential development, commercial activities and other uses. With the failure of public control and management, the private market had become the main provider of land to prospective developers and the driver of the local economy. Haphazard location of informal activities, petty trading, cottage industries and services has become the order of the day. Economic activities and land uses lack adequate management and therefore as this study has shown lead to many challenges and problems, which if not addressed will in the future lead to more complex environmental problems and public health hazards. A town lacking basic infrastructure and services cannot attract outside investments and stimulate local economic opportunities.
Informal A chaotic economic system cannot support sustained development that leads to healthy economic growth, enhanced welfare of the poor urban residents and the attainment of the New Urban Agenda.

Conclusion
The study has provided insight into the nature and characteristics of informal activities, and the physical planning implications of informal sector activities in Barkin-Ladi town. The capacity of the informal sector economy to provide employment to the teeming urban population cannot be underscored. However, the sector poses considerable challenge to urban planners not only in Nigeria but also in other developing countries of the world on how to integrate them into the urban system where the level of application of physical planning principle and practice to manage and regulate informal sector activities has been very low. The environmental and public health challenges that they pose have been left unaddressed by planners and other stakeholders. There is need for urban planners to understand the needs and dynamics of the informal sector as the driver of local economic development and work assiduously with all relevant players in the economy to integrate them in the spatial planning framework to promote economic development and growth that is sensitive to environmental quality and heath of the urban residents. This will help to ensure economic development while promoting environmental health and social harmony in urban centres.

Recommendations
To address the challenges and problems that informal land use activities pose in Bakin Ladi town, the following recommendations are made: a. The planning system and urban planners should understand and promote the informal sector to enhance and boost local economic development by providing suitable sites and locations serviced with basic infrastructure that are accessible and safe for them to thrive (see also, Pietrus 2014).
b. An urban master plan should be prepared by the local government, with technical and financial assistance of the state government to provide a framework for the growth and development of Barkin e. There is need to rationalise the locations of informal activities. Those exposed to higher levels of danger, hazards and risks should be relocated to safer and more secure sites. This applies to activities along busy major roads.
f. Enforcement of minimum environmental standards, public health and sanitation guidelines, business operation hours, etc. should be negotiated and agreed with informal operators so that they are acceptable and adhered to.
g. In line with recommendation 6 above; relevant planning authorities and other stakeholders should adopt the UN-Habitat approach in regulating and integrating informal land use activities in the urban centre, which has to do with the following: (see, UN-Habitat 2006, 2007.
i. Demolition: Demolition is extremely costly when the informal constructions represent solid investments and are a vital part of the economy. Informality is seen as a response to inefficiency of a state responsibility related to good land administration and urban management or to economic development and provision of job opportunities. Demolition should be the last resort.
ii. Ignoring the problem: Ignoring the problem, is not often a sustainable and wise option to be considered, since informal development simply keep growing. Doing nothing is considered a poor solution since the rate of urban growth is high particularly in developing countries. iii. Comprehensive spatial planning: comprehensive detailed planning to regenerate the areas affected by informal developments and impose controls on development iv. Legalization. Clarifies ownership rights on land and solves the land tenure problems. Violations of planning regulations, or enforcement of new planning regulations, are left to be dealt with at a later stage. Legalizing property rights, with simple zoning criteria for rejection, the provision of registration and providing basic infrastructure as a following stage.
h. The State Urban and Regional Planning Board be establish at the State level and the Local Planning Authorities in all the 17 Local Governments (LPAs) of the state as recommended by the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law of 1992 for effective planning of urban centres, especially the local government headquarters which are growing fast in population due to rapid urbanization and urban expansion (see, NURP LAW, 1992).