The Oyo State government is actively working towards creating more resilient cities, focusing on sustainable urban development and improving quality of life for residents.
Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban development, Mr. Williams Akin- funmilayo stated this at an International Conference on a sustainable built environment, held at the Faculty of Environmental Design and Management University of Ibadan.
He added that the Governor Seyi Makinde led administration is proud to be at the forefront of integrating resilience into urban planning.
The commissioner explained that across Africa and especially in Nigeria, our cities are under tremendous pressure, Urban populations are growing rapidly often faster than the planning framework can handle, saying by 2050, it is projected that over 70% of Nigeria’s population will live in urban areas.
He maintained that, resilience is not optional but necessity and Oyo State is not immune to these challenges from the ever- expanding Ibadan metropolitan area to the rural – urban migration.
Akin-funmilayo added that pressures in towns like Ogbomoso and Oyo, Saki, Iseyin, Ibarapa are witnessing increasing demand for housing services and land, noting that challenges have presented the State Government opportunities to innovate, reform and to build more resilient cities.
According to him, “On Urban Renewal policy framework, the Lands Commissioner explained that in 2021, the State Government under the present administration launched a renewed Urban Renewal Strategy aimed at making the cities in Oyo State more livable, inclusive and future – proof and this includes: Comprehensive upgrading of both major and inner-city roads and drainage systems; Revitalization of public facilities/infrastructure such as schools, health centers.
He explained further that Digitization and GIS- Based Land administration one of most transformation initiatives has been the Digitization of land records and planing approvals through the Oyo State Geographic information System (OYOGIS)
