Coping with urban poverty: Housing transformation and home-based enterprises in poor residential neighbourhoods of Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper investigates how spaces meant for residential purposes have been transformed for other uses, particularly home-based enterprises (HBEs). The paper shows that the houses in poor residential neighbourhoods provide residents with both home and workplace for livelihood. This is practised by the majority of people living in the core urban residential neighbourhoods in Akure, Nigeria. This paper attempts to identify different kinds of HBEs and analyses how spaces are used for other functions than they were initially designed to perform. Empirical data was sourced from four core residential neighbourhoods in Akure, Nigeria as a case study to examine how spaces for domestic purpose were used for commercial activities, the size and nature of HBEs. The study revealed that most households in the core residential neighbourhoods engage in one or more HBEs and many of the houses in the study area have witnessed significant transformation to allow for double functioning of the property.