THE EFFECT OF LAND USE ACTIVITIES ON THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE ENVIRONMENT

1.1 Introduction

Land use is the utilization of land resources by the people which varies with the purposes it serves, whether they are food production, provision of shelter, recreation, extraction and processing of materials, and the bio-physical characteristics of land itself. Land as one of the factors of production is relatively scarce in supply, the Effect of Land Use Activities on the Health and Safety of the Environment has become very cumbersome and a course of worry to the emerging cities; this is because lands are used for diverse purposes; ranging from agriculture, industrial, residential, commercial and mining. Some of these activities on land causes pollution and hazardous to public health. It is on this back drop that the researcher intends to investigate the effect of land used activities on the health and safety of the environments.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of Study

The focus of this study is on land use planning for healthy human settlements. It is widely recognized that the spatial planning of human urban activity is affecting quality of life, health and well-being. First to give some definitions: settlements in this context include cities, towns and villages. The tentacles of large settlements spread out far beyond urban areas, into hinterlands and networks, linking places together through commuter residence and work, retail, educational and leisure activities. So there is no clear functional distinction between urban and rural settlements within a town or city region.

Land use planning is conventionally called ‘town and country planning’ in Britain, following the 1947 Act, but since 2004 is officially termed ‘spatial planning’, implying a more integrated, inter-agency process. In literature the term ‘built environment’ is often used to mean the human-made environment that may be subject to planning. It does not refer only to buildings and hard infrastructure but to all the physical elements that go to make up settlements, including greenspace. Health is defined broadly, in line with the World Health Organization (WHO), as ‘not only the absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.

Land use planning and concern for the built environment originated from a public health focus. The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century caused a rapid growth of coal, steel, and manufacturing industries. In turn, this brought workers and their families from the countryside to the cities in droves. These exploding cities lacked sanitary infrastructures to cope with the swelling masses. Improvised and often crowded housing typically lay adjacent to factories that discharged smoke and other pollutants. Urban residents, “lived in tiny unventilated apartments, often with whole families and perhaps a few boarders− occupying the same room…the most miserable and degraded lived in unfinished cellars, their walls a mat of slime, sewage, and moisture after every rain.

Land use planning creates the prerequisites required to achieve a type of land use, which is sustainable, socially and environmentally compatible, socially desirable and economically sound. According to Adhikari et al., (2013) cited in Abedin et al., (2015) noted, land use planning is a field of science which tends to order and regulate different land uses in urban areas in an efficient situation. It deals with organizing, arranging and planning of land uses with the aim of achieving a conducive and aesthetically pleasing environment. It requires a critical study, analysis and investigation of land structures and arrangement so as to determine suitability and compatibility of land uses. In all, land use planning can be defined as the arrangement of land uses in a spatial structure and separating conflicting land uses so as to achieve a harmonious environment with a pleasant environmental landscape.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Effect of Land Use Activities on the Health and Safety of the Environment.

1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that land as one of the factors of production is relatively scarce in supply, The Effect of Land Use Activities on the Health and Safety of the Environment has become very cumbersome and a course of worry to the emerging cities. This is because land are used for diverse purposes; ranging from agriculture, industrial, residential, commercial and mining. Some of these activities on land causes pollution and hazardous to public health. It is on this back drop that the researcher intends to investigate the effect of land used activities on the health and safety of the environments.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to ascertain the Effect of Land Use Activities on the Health and Safety of the Environment. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To determine the relationship between land use and public safety
2. To determine the relationship between land use and public health
3. To determine the impact of land activities on the environment
4. To evaluate ways of promoting effective land used and environmental safety.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What is the relationship between land use and public safety?
• What is the relationship between land use and public health?
• What is the impact of land activities on the environment?
• What are the ways of promoting effective land used and environmental safety?

1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no significant relationship between land use and public safety
• H1: There is a significant relationship between land use and public safety.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant relationship between land use activities and public health
• H1: There is a significant relationship between land use activities and public health.

1.7 Significance of Study

The following are the relevance of the study entails that at the completion of this study:

1. The findings will be of great benefit to the urban and regional planners to ensure effective planning of the society.
2. The findings will also be of great benefit to the public health workers to ensure ways of protecting the environment from hazards emanating from the use of land.
3. The study will also be of great importance to environmentalist in other to formulate and implement environmental laws.
4. Finally the study will be of great benefit to researchers as it will add to the pool of knowledge.

This study will be of immense benefit to academic students and other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Effect of Land Use Activities on the Health and Safety of the Environment in Nigeria.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

1.10 Definition of Terms

Land: Land, sometimes referred to as dry land, is the solid surface of the Earth that is not permanently covered by water.

Land: Land, sometimes referred to as dry land, is the solid surface of Earth that is not permanently covered by water. The vast majority of human activity throughout history has occurred in land areas that support agriculture, habitat and natural resources.

Land use Act: An Act to Vest all Land compromised in the territory of each State (except land vested in the Federal government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the State, who would hold such Land in trust for the people and would henceforth be responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals resident in the State and to organizations for residential, agriculture, commercial and other purposes while similar powers will with respect to non-urban areas are conferred on Local Governments.

Health: Health is the level of functional and metabolic efficiency of a living organism. In humans it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt and self-manage when facing physical, mental or social changes.

Environmental Health Safety: Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) is an umbrella term for the laws, rules, guidance and processes designed to help protect employees, the public and the environment from harm.

1.11 Organization of the Study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study.

Chapter two highlight theoretical framework on which the study its based, thus the review of related literature.

Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.

Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.

Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.