Design Intentions Vs. Lived Realities: A Post-Occupancy Study of Residential Satisfaction in a Nigerian Public Housing Estate towards Sustainable Housing Development

Abstract

ost Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is the process of obtaining feedback on a building’s functional performance after it has been built and occupied. POE collects information on building efficiency, patterns of energy use, and overall user satisfaction. This study applies POE to assess the satisfaction levels of residents in Prince Courts Estate, Abeokuta, Ogun State, with the aim of determining whether the public housing estate aligns with its initial design intentions and fulfils the government’s objectives in meeting residents’ needs. Quantitative data were obtained by administering questionnaires to 50 housing units in the housing estate. Descriptive and inferential techniques were used for the analysis. The analysis revealed that age, marital status, and household size all had positive and significant effects on residential satisfaction. However, socio-economic status, length of residency, and ownership status exhibited negative but significant relationships with satisfaction. The study concluded that most residents found their housing units satisfactory but at different levels of satisfaction based on age, length of residency, marital status and educational level. These variations highlight the need for public agencies to consider diverse resident characteristics in the development, management and planning of future improvements for public housing estates.