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Peri-urbanization and Housing Challenges in Sub-Saharan Emergent Cities: Case of the Bamenda 3 Local Council Area in Cameroon

Received: 16 September 2025     Accepted: 4 October 2025     Published: 28 October 2025
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Abstract

Peri-urbanization in sub-Saharan emergent cities has triggered housing challenges accrued. Access to affordable housing has become a herculean task leading to urban anarchy. This article posits that the development a of substandard housing infrastructures, high cost of decent housing, over crowdedness as well as the construction of houses in risk pruned zones are some of the challenges observed. Some 277 questionnaires were administered to households of the Bamenda 3 local council area to have first-hand data on the housing challenges and its consequences. A multispectral land satellite imagery on the land use/ land cover situation for three different periods was used to determine the rate of spatial expansion in the peri-urbanization process of the area. Field observations and interview sessions were organized to have information on the mundus operandi aground. ArcGIS 10.0 and MapInfo software were used in the production of maps in this work. An in-depth secondary data collection was done to gather information on the rate of urbanization and its challenges to Bamenda 3. Results from findings propound that rapid population growth (32.8%) political factor (23.4%) economic activities18.4%), urban expansion (14.4%) and relief factor10.3) were identified as determinants of peri-urbanization in the area. This has triggered a change in the land use/landcover situation of Bamenda 3 over time from (13.16%) in 2000 to (29.22%) in 2020 of the built-up space. The change in built-up space has been accompanied by housing challenges leading to water scarcity, limited power supply, poor roads as well as unhealthy environment. The inhabitants of Bamenda 3 are faced with high cost of living, drop in household consumption, development of substandard housing and overcrowding. The paper adheres to the fact that the State should put more effort into financing affordable housing either through subventions or loan purchases to reduce substandard constructions. Furthermore, the legal and judicial system should ensure contract enforcement and promote transparency with the hope of curbing housing challenges in Bamenda 3 and beyond.

Published in Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 10, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.urp.20251004.11
Page(s) 187-204
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Peri-urbanization, Housing Challenges, Affordable Housing, Planning, Development, Bamenda 3

References
[1] Barney, Warf. (2020). Encyclopedia of Human Geography. SAGE PUBLICATIONS. Thousand Oaks London. New Delhi. 638p.
[2] Barney Cohen. (2015). "Urbanization, City Growth, and the New United Nations Development Agenda". Cornerstone, The Official Journal of the World Coal Industry. 3(2). pp. 4–7.
[3] Akhmat G. and Bochun Y. (2010). Rapidly Changing Dynamics of Urbanization in China: Escalating Regional Inequalities and Urban Management Problems. Journal of Sustainable Development, 3(2), 153-158.
[4] Ahmed, Y. A. (2009). Settlements Pattern and Functional Distribution in an Emerging Community: a case study of a Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. In: The Social Sciences, Medwell Publishing 4(3), pp. 256-263. ISSN 1818-5800.
[5] Jiboye, A. D. (2011). The challenges of sustainable housing and urban development in Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Research and Policies. 4(3), 23-27.
[6] Ibuma, B., Wachukwu, F. C. (2015). Settlement Dynamics in the Northern Fringes of Port Harcourt Metropolis. In: International Journals of Scientific and Technological Research. vol. 4, issue 05, pp34-43. ISSN2277-8616.
[7] Olaleye J. B. (2012). Land use and Land-cover analysis of Ilorin Emirate between 1986-2006, using landsat imageries. African Journal of Environmental science and Technology. Pg 189-198.
[8] Ntoban, V. K., and Fogwe, Z. N. (2019). The Garbage Disposal Challenges in Bamenda (Cameroon): An Urbanization and Public Welfare Policy Accountability. In International Journal of Resources and Environmental Management, Vol. 4, No 2, pp: 75-92.
[9] NPHCC, 2005, and 2010 projections, Third population and housing census results of Cameroon, 647p.
[10] Fombe, L. F., &Balgah, S. N. (2012). The urbanisation process in Cameroon. process, patterns and implications. African Political, Economic and Security Issues (p. 214). NOVA, Nova Sciences Publishers, Inc. New York.
[11] Ngwa Canute and Nwenfor Divine A. (2017). The Colonial Imprint on Smallholder Agricultural Economy in the Bamenda Grass fields of Cameroon, 1889-1961. In African Humanities Review, Vol. 3, No 2, pp: 81-108.
[12] Kometa, S. and Ndi, R. A. (2012). The Hydro-geomorphological Implications of Urbanization in Bamenda, Cameroon. Journal of Sustainable Development, Vol. 13, No. 4; 2020 2345(6).
[13] Bamenda City Council. (2012). Annual report of the city council, Bamenda, 2012, 487p.
[14] Gregory Squires. (2002). Urban Sprawl: Causes, Consequences and Policy Responses. THE URBAN INSTITUTE PRESS, 152p(16). Yango Jean. (2014). Urban Planning rules in Cameroon. Critical analysis of tools. 378p.
[15] Yango Jean. (2014). Urban Planning rules in Cameroon. Critical analysis of tools. 378p.
[16] Zhenfeng Shao, Neema S. Sumari, Aleksei Portnov, Fanan Ujoh, Walter Musakwa & Paulo J. Mandela. (2020). Urban sprawl and its impact on sustainable urban development: a combination of remote sensing and social media data, Geo-spatial Information Science, pp: 1-15,
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  • APA Style

    Tichafogwe, T. R., Wongbe, S. E. (2025). Peri-urbanization and Housing Challenges in Sub-Saharan Emergent Cities: Case of the Bamenda 3 Local Council Area in Cameroon. Urban and Regional Planning, 10(4), 187-204. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20251004.11

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    ACS Style

    Tichafogwe, T. R.; Wongbe, S. E. Peri-urbanization and Housing Challenges in Sub-Saharan Emergent Cities: Case of the Bamenda 3 Local Council Area in Cameroon. Urban Reg. Plan. 2025, 10(4), 187-204. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20251004.11

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    AMA Style

    Tichafogwe TR, Wongbe SE. Peri-urbanization and Housing Challenges in Sub-Saharan Emergent Cities: Case of the Bamenda 3 Local Council Area in Cameroon. Urban Reg Plan. 2025;10(4):187-204. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20251004.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.urp.20251004.11,
      author = {Tende Renz Tichafogwe and Sahfe Eric Wongbe},
      title = {Peri-urbanization and Housing Challenges in Sub-Saharan Emergent Cities: Case of the Bamenda 3 Local Council Area in Cameroon
    },
      journal = {Urban and Regional Planning},
      volume = {10},
      number = {4},
      pages = {187-204},
      doi = {10.11648/j.urp.20251004.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20251004.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.urp.20251004.11},
      abstract = {Peri-urbanization in sub-Saharan emergent cities has triggered housing challenges accrued. Access to affordable housing has become a herculean task leading to urban anarchy. This article posits that the development a of substandard housing infrastructures, high cost of decent housing, over crowdedness as well as the construction of houses in risk pruned zones are some of the challenges observed. Some 277 questionnaires were administered to households of the Bamenda 3 local council area to have first-hand data on the housing challenges and its consequences. A multispectral land satellite imagery on the land use/ land cover situation for three different periods was used to determine the rate of spatial expansion in the peri-urbanization process of the area. Field observations and interview sessions were organized to have information on the mundus operandi aground. ArcGIS 10.0 and MapInfo software were used in the production of maps in this work. An in-depth secondary data collection was done to gather information on the rate of urbanization and its challenges to Bamenda 3. Results from findings propound that rapid population growth (32.8%) political factor (23.4%) economic activities18.4%), urban expansion (14.4%) and relief factor10.3) were identified as determinants of peri-urbanization in the area. This has triggered a change in the land use/landcover situation of Bamenda 3 over time from (13.16%) in 2000 to (29.22%) in 2020 of the built-up space. The change in built-up space has been accompanied by housing challenges leading to water scarcity, limited power supply, poor roads as well as unhealthy environment. The inhabitants of Bamenda 3 are faced with high cost of living, drop in household consumption, development of substandard housing and overcrowding. The paper adheres to the fact that the State should put more effort into financing affordable housing either through subventions or loan purchases to reduce substandard constructions. Furthermore, the legal and judicial system should ensure contract enforcement and promote transparency with the hope of curbing housing challenges in Bamenda 3 and beyond.
    },
     year = {2025}
    }
    

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    T1  - Peri-urbanization and Housing Challenges in Sub-Saharan Emergent Cities: Case of the Bamenda 3 Local Council Area in Cameroon
    
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    AB  - Peri-urbanization in sub-Saharan emergent cities has triggered housing challenges accrued. Access to affordable housing has become a herculean task leading to urban anarchy. This article posits that the development a of substandard housing infrastructures, high cost of decent housing, over crowdedness as well as the construction of houses in risk pruned zones are some of the challenges observed. Some 277 questionnaires were administered to households of the Bamenda 3 local council area to have first-hand data on the housing challenges and its consequences. A multispectral land satellite imagery on the land use/ land cover situation for three different periods was used to determine the rate of spatial expansion in the peri-urbanization process of the area. Field observations and interview sessions were organized to have information on the mundus operandi aground. ArcGIS 10.0 and MapInfo software were used in the production of maps in this work. An in-depth secondary data collection was done to gather information on the rate of urbanization and its challenges to Bamenda 3. Results from findings propound that rapid population growth (32.8%) political factor (23.4%) economic activities18.4%), urban expansion (14.4%) and relief factor10.3) were identified as determinants of peri-urbanization in the area. This has triggered a change in the land use/landcover situation of Bamenda 3 over time from (13.16%) in 2000 to (29.22%) in 2020 of the built-up space. The change in built-up space has been accompanied by housing challenges leading to water scarcity, limited power supply, poor roads as well as unhealthy environment. The inhabitants of Bamenda 3 are faced with high cost of living, drop in household consumption, development of substandard housing and overcrowding. The paper adheres to the fact that the State should put more effort into financing affordable housing either through subventions or loan purchases to reduce substandard constructions. Furthermore, the legal and judicial system should ensure contract enforcement and promote transparency with the hope of curbing housing challenges in Bamenda 3 and beyond.
    
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