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Socio-Economic Correlates of Courtyard Utilisation in The Indigenous Residential Areas of Nigeria

This study examined socio-economic correlates of courtyard utilisation in the indigenous residential areas of Nigeria. Three cities: Zaria, Ibadan and Owerri, representing the three dominant ethnic groups (Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo) in Nigeria were selected by stratification. Nine Local Government Areas (Zaria 1; Ibadan 5; Owerri 3) comprising the core residential areas in the cities were randomly selected. Random sampling technique was also employed to select 730 household heads for questionnaire administration. Spearman’s rho Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics of courtyard users and courtyard utilisation in houses. Results revealed that both marital status and age had low correlation with courtyard utilisation with correlation coefficients of 0.271 and 0.253 respectively and p=0.000 in both cases, implying there are low but significant positive correlation between marital status, age and courtyard utilisation. Education and courtyard utilisation had correlation coefficient (r) of -0.234; p=0.000, implying no significant relationship between education and courtyard utilisation. It was concluded that the relevance of socio-economic characteristics cannot be out rightly ignored in courtyard utilisation in houses of the study area. Socio-economic characteristics should therefore be factored into design of courtyards for any residential building.