RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.14 Characteristics/nature of Variables in the Study .1 House Design preference/taste
This research provides fifteen variables as leading indicators of the level of partnering among housing development actor/partners namely: location of estate, estate typology, tenure, provision of infrastructure, access to land, age of estate and firm, cost of construction, cost of foreign exchange, source of funding, profit motive, level of technology-in use, government policy. Assuming a linear relationship between levels of partnership and development actor/partners variable, then the model can be stated as follows;
If VP1 is the estimated level of partnership, C0 is the constant term
While, C1,C2,C3 are regression coefficients to be estimated
Then, VP2,VP3,VP4,VP5, etc are estimated indicators of level of partnership from resource optimization and the process optimization elements of PPP.
i.e,
VP1=C0+C1VP2+ C2 VP3 + C3 VP4 + C4 VP5 + C5 VP6 + C6 VP7 + C7 VP8 + C8 VP9 + C9 VP10 + C10 VP11 + C11 VP12+ C12 VP13
2.13.3 Validation of the Model
This research uses a validation technique, which allows for the testing of predictions obtained from fresh data. This is preferred to two other options in the open literature often used, namely, the analysis of model coefficients and data splitting. In order to achieve correctness, the new data must indicate that the Fisher’s exact p-values are proximal to chi-square values for variables in association, which in turn are validated by the prior plausibility of the supportive literature: By so the data obtained is conclusive on the qualitative and quantitative terms.
2.14 Characteristics/nature of Variables in the Study
2.14.2 Construction Technology
This is variable is measured by the levels of mechanized or humanized activity utilized in the process of housing delivery. Olusanya (1992) identifies three major types of technology on their value added basis; they are local/manual, intermediate, or high technology.
2.14.3 Process Cost
This variable is the stages in housing delivery. Siram.et. al. (2001) identified four stages; the planning, land assembly development and implementation and disposal. All four stages summarize the nine-process function of Prins (1994) and other proponents of the housing delivery process (Turner, 1972, Ogu, 2000). The entire processes involve capital costs and fees in return for asset, services or approvals/taxes and time costs on the part of households and actors/partners. These costs often make the entire delivery process cumbersome. A table of these activities in Nigeria was formulated giving an indication of the process, lead time and approximate costs; which this study would adopt as process costs for the housing process excluding the construction related costs(see table 3.8.2). Alternative approach is to assume the period and benchmark against man/hour cost to compute the process costs.
2.14.4 Quality/ Housing Environment
The ‘settings’ for housing is defined as the housing environment (Rapoport, 2001) and it is a measure of the quality of life (or living) and the physical structural soundness of the building as well as sanitation, Bourne (1981). In this study, quality of life and quality of housing environment has been bundled to identify the patterns, linkages and forms of interaction between environment and behavior, including their mechanisms (Rapoport, 2001).
2.14.5 Layout typology
Aradeon (1982) identified two types of layout, which forms the basis for the physical development process of housing and the measurement of this variable. The two types of layout typology are the government layout and the private layout at the planning level. The sequence of events that would unravel in the course of physical development as part of the housing process are determined to large extents by the choice of consumers at this stage.
2.14.6 Contracting Conditions
This variable ascertains the nature of the conditions of the contract under which contractors/subcontractors would have to perform their task of building construction. The terms of reference is the value for money invested by actors/partners and households where applicable. This involves a favourable contracting condition as against a less favourable
contracting condition, which excludes profitability and measures basic conventional conditions of contract implicitly; there are four different stages of the works namely; mobilization, procurement, execution and demobilization.
2.14.7 Cost of foreign exchange
This is a measure of design specific typology, which in reality relates to the lifestyle of the people as occasioned by legislation. Since 70% of building material used in modern housing in Lagos are imported in two ways namely; as finished products, or inputs for local production.
More so, about 90% of manufacturing of building materials in relation to ‘inputs for local production’ depends on expatriate technology and skills (as well as owned/operated by expatriates). Therefore, foreign exchange is a major index in the construction industry of Lagos and Nigeria. Since importation of building materials and repatriation of profit from produced materials locally adversely affects local foreign exchange reserves. This variable ascertains the level of dependence on foreign exchange from preferences in building material and technology choices often made to achieve housing.
2.14.8 Household Characteristics
It is a measure of age group, income group, employment/carrier group, religion group, ethnicity, and all the characteristics that makes for household uniqueness. This is important to reflect the tendencies of households. The ability of households to access housing in urban centers are often traceable to their networks and these networks are in direct relation to the household characteristics. Socially, this may be class distinctions based on economy, ethnicity, political associations, religious associations, and the likes. These formations describe the housing characteristics and enclaves of social life as perceived in Lagos (Aradeon,1981).For instance, household size for the western civilization is agreed as a maximum of 2persons per room(WorldBank,1993). However, Aradeon (1978) identified the Nigerian family as comprising, the father, and mother, at least four children, a house cleaner and most time a driver and a family relative. This totals about eight (8) persons for the average middle- income household. This variable elucidates the households configuration that typifies the identity of those the planned objectives intends to cater for in terms of housing adequacy. This variable is in groups of households’ personalities in relation to the head of the household.
2.14.9 Architectural design typology
This variable differentiates the functions of the single house form, as space defined activity or as an activity defined space.
The transition between the pre-colonial, colonial, and post colonial currently exhibits this duality of function in the single house form. The measure of design typology in terms of functional space and architectural characterization is crucial to understanding the criteria for target housing among the middle-income. The implication for this variable includes a measure of the size of spaces, type of construction material and the guiding conceptual function of spatial classification for target consumption such as flat(by number of bedrooms), rooming, semi-detached house, detached/single house, and terrace/town house. These design typologies elucidates the levels of syncretism in which housing presents itself to satisfy technical, social and psychological needs of interests.
2.14.10 Access to occupancy/allocation
Housing access is by inheritance, purchase, or allocation. The public sector is often by allocation based on undisclosed methods, and sometimes by lottery in favour of a selection of groups based on income, since the income parameter for access to occupancy is a traditional basis for purchase and allocation in most public based housing. However, in the private sector it is strictly on a cash and carry basis. By ascertaining, the method by which respondents obtained access to occupancy the study elucidate this to what extent this traditional income based selection benefits the target household set out in the housing objectives.
2.14.11 Housing maintenance and management
The variable often characterizes the traceable need of society to cater for the services and the affairs of the surrounding premises to the housing as well as the utilization of these services in a manner that is sustainable. This is evident in the presence of estate associations within the communal enclave whose responsibilities include; security, cleaning, enforcement localized rules and general levels of acceptable behaviours. The presence of these items of responsibilities undertaken by the estate association forms the measurement for the variable.
This is to ascertain the correlation between housing environment and the identified PPP typology.
2.14.12 Location of Housing
In this case, the linear distance of the housing from the central business district of the city and the level of cumbersomeness associated with commuting/driving for most the surveyed residents of housing estates. Since trading, and white-collar jobs are the predominant stay of most middle to low income earners in Lagos and these jobs are centrally located in central business districts (NBS, 2009).
2.14.13 Levels of Actors/Partners’ Commitment
This is a measure of the partnership between developer and government on a development project/housing and the extent that they are committed to achieving set out goals and objectives. This is measureable in terms of target number of housing produced, sale price set out to be delivered to consumers, the terms of partnership and resource allocation by partners and the level of incentives which dampens the need for accumulation of surplus value by private sector actors/partners. This is a measure of the general commitment to government objectives for housing as a private sector partner.
2.14.14 Provision of Infrastructure
The provision of electricity, water, sewage, drainage, roads, and refuse storage/ disposal (Bourne, 1981) as the general description of infrastructure for assess to housing. Any housing with less than two of these is inadequate in infrastructure provision by this study.
2.14.15 Profit Motive of Partners
Marxist theory describes this as surplus value (Pugh, 1980), and recent proponents of PPP such as Akitoye and Skitmore (1994), have identified it as the difference in the value of outputs and inputs and output price/input cost ratio. In a market economy, it is usual for the private sector developer to project on the cost benefit of the investment called the return on investment (ROI). Sometimes, for the public sector the issue is cost-recovery and not profit, where they do not intend to subsidize the housing. Therefore, the bundling of profit motive would help in creating a balance between the public sector social, political and economic objectives within the strictly private sector economic objectives by the public sector creating other incentives which the private sector would utilize to recover cost as well as obtain profit. This is expressed in a range of profitability percentages that would serve to ascertain the profitability range for actors/partners that would motivate them to engage or initiate a housing development by infusing their private equity.
2.14.16 Non Profit Motive of actors/partners
These are essentially social inclinations brought to bear by the public sector objectives. They could be political, such as the need for government to meet the demands of a particular social group. These non-profit motives radically induce private sector actors/ partners to look elsewhere within the housing process for profit based gratifications legitimately and illegitimately. Therefore, the incentives that should dowse the effect of the need for profit cited in the literature forms the basis for this measurement.
2.14.17 Access to Land
By legislation, the Land used Decree transfers land in trust to the Federal republic of Nigeria.
Therefore, land distribution for housing to public and private sector is by allocation. However, the rights/titles, access to occupancy and transfer of these rights are not as straightforward.
Aradeon (1987) identified the land use system in terms of proportioning and distribution of land for purposes such as housing, commerce and industry and public services (e.g. schools, hospitals, etc). Such verbal descriptions of planning intentions are usually never in synchrony with the realities in Lagos. Therefore, access to land shall be in terms of allocation.
2.14.18 Property Price
This was determined by supply and demand (Bourne, 1981; Hua, 1996).The measure of this trend can be obtained from current land and property costs among actors/partners and expressed in per square meter cost.
2.14.19 Access to financing
Ojo (2005) observed that the cumbersomeness of obtaining housing finance from the apex mortgage institution by individuals has forced many would be homeowners to seek alternative housing finance sources. Even in the event of overcoming this obstacle, there is the problem of liquidity by the PMI’s. The Central Bank of Nigeria has direct money supply indices from its annual report.
2.14.20 Construction Costs
Generally, it is a measure of tender price index. This would be misleading as the generalized application here would infer the large-scale construction companies (which are expatriates).
and this is not applicable to the mass of housing in the market economy as a clear indictor of the trend. Therefore, this research shall obtain direct cost of housing units from developers and contractors who form the bulk of middle to low income housing contractors and utilize the average cost per square meter to arrive at a reasonable value.
2.14.21 Sources of financing
The various sources of financing available to households and housing development actors/partners shall form the basis for this variable. The housing development actors/partners usually source their fund from savings and financial institutions while most households rely more on savings and family/thrift based contributions. The level of completeness of housing is an indicator of the funding structure. Relative levels of completion observed in public and private estates are based on the building elements and infrastructure.
2.14.22 Household income
Mabogunje (1999, 2002) have utilized 30% of income to compute the repayment plan and age alongside likely income for the Grade level 10 Federal civil service worker as the middle- income earner; supported by ILO documents for housing repayments. Hence, a measure of affordability is 30% of income.
2.14.23 Tenure
This is the rights of occupancy against treats of eviction or encumbrance of all forms, whether its rental or ownership. The need to ascertain the security of tenure and the proof of such tenure can only be in relation to government terms such as; certificate of occupancy, deed of assignment/sublease. The availability of such document is an indicator of the investment potential available to ownership from which they can upgrade their housing, or venture into other business that would improve the quality of life. More so, tenure is not only a security for housing, but a determinant of likely partners/actors role in PPP (HarnndoDesoto,2003).
2.14.24 Price of Building Materials
This is an indicator for profitability to the private sector and viability to the public sector and it is important to the levels of partnerships that would likely occur between both sectors and would influence the coalitions and arrangements among actors. The price obtained from published Guardian newspaper shall form the basis for this variable.
2.14.25 Levels of building activity regulation
This involves the planning approval process and stages of authorization as earlier shown in the study as key determinants of partners’ arrangement in the housing delivery system. Which includes the outcomes of decisions; since often times the determinants of partners’
arrangement do not reflect the wishes and aspiration of the actors. Aradeon (2005), identifies planning intentions of the land-use system in Lagos as different from Land-use design which is the translation and interpretation of planning intentions as conditioned by the layout.
Therefore, there is the tendency to work within the frame of these non-dynamic regulations yet achieve profitability in terms of occupancy arrangements to recover cost and improve accumulation of surplus value simultaneously. To this end, the stages for building activity regulation as stated by the Lagos state planning Edict, 1969, forms the basis for evaluating this variable.
2.14.26 Government Policies/Framework
The policy on partnerships clearly indicates that the private sector must provide proof of funding to benefit from land allocation, which they would obtain for a nominal fee, by providing a letter for funding the project from a reputable bank. Achieving the regulatory requirements does not imply adequacy of submission as well as guarantee that the project would be successful. The regulatory instruments for checking, and penalties in case of violation/misrepresentation is not clear. The measure of policy in terms of regulatory guidelines and frameworks/strategies for implementation was assessed for adequacy.