Analysing the Contribution of Attitudinal Factors to the Depleting Urban Green Vegetation in Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

The contribution of attitudinal factors to the morphology of urban vegetation in cities has received very scanty attention. Most researchers in the developing countries including Nigeria focus on urbanisation, without paying significant attention to attitudinal factors. However, a lot of socioeconomic adjustments take place in cities in these countries, which result in the depletion of urban vegetation. The necessity to determine the contribution of attitudinal factors to the reduction in Akure urban vegetation has called for this study. The study analysed the contribution of attitudinal factors to the reduction of urban vegetation in the city. Previous studies on the city’s land use and land cover changes seemed to ascribe the city’s falling greenery to urbanisation only, without considering the contribution of attitudinal factors to the process. The paper posits that the indicators of attitudinal factors need to be properly understood in order to design appropriate policies to curb the phenomenon. Data were sourced through self-administered questionnaire from 317 participants. The data were analysed with SPSS Version 20 for the descriptive analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), for the determination of the dominant factors. The KaiserMeyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy showed that the research instrument was internally consistent. Confirmatory factor analysis also achieved satisfactory goodness of fit indices. It was revealed that eight dominant attitudinal factors contributed to the reduction of urban vegetation in the city. These include misuse of road setback (0.72), not enough enlightenment or publicity (0.72), and failure of town planning authorities to enforce urban tree planting (0.72.) This shows that attitudinal factors contributed significantly to the depletion of urban vegetation in the city. The necessity for mass education and enlightenment towards behaviour change and pro-environmental behaviour, is stressed.