Neighborhood Residential Design and Community Integration

Sustainability issues are as old as human existence, though they have not occupied the front burner of human activity or been discussed until recently, in a not-too-distant past. Architects and other actors in the built environment have concentrated more on environmental sustainability, creating a vacuum and a need for this study. The study assessed residential neighbourhood designs and social sustainability by means of communal integration. The study used housing estates in Kaura district of the federal capital territory of Abuja as cases while examining the bottlenecks and leeways these estates had on communal integration. Data was collected by means of questionnaires and observation schedules, which were in turn analysed, and conclusions were deduced through the analysis. The findings revealed that, based on the cut-off point of 2.50, the respondents agreed that neighbourhood residential design had an impact on communal integration. The findings revealed that respondents tend to agree that the lack of common spaces, layout barriers, and absence of community-oriented amenities negatively affect communal integration. The findings revealed that the respondents agreed that practical design interventions and recommendations would improve communal integration. The study concluded that communal integration is not solely reliant on physical elements. Social and cultural factors emerged as significant influencers of communal integration, aligning with existing research that highlights the interplay between the built environment and social dynamics. Policies, rules, and the existing sense of neighbourhood identity were seen to play a role in either hindering or facilitating residents' sense of belonging. The study recommends that engaging residents in the design process can help ensure that design elements align with their preferences and needs. Regular feedback sessions and community workshops can enable a collective vision for communal spaces to emerge.

Keywords:- Design, Communal, Integration Neighborhood, Residential.