Stakeholders’ Response to Urban Sprawl Regulation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical Evidence from Maroua City, Far North Region of Cameroon

Abstract

In the past few decades, most cities in developing countries have witnessed rapid urbanisation resulting from an unexpected increase in urban population, leading to the phenomenon of sprawl. Notwithstanding, literature survey has established that stakeholders’ responses to urban sprawl regulations have not been investigated earlier, creating multiple research gaps. This novel study set out to fill in such gaps by investigating stakeholders’ responses to urban sprawl regulations in the sub-Saharan city of Maroua in the Far north Region of Cameroon as a case study. It employed the mixed-method research approach combining both qualitative and quantitative designs, primary data sources from observation, Key Informant Interviews (N=8) with the local government/planning authorities, 400 copies of the questionnaire administered to local residents and documented sources, followed by descriptive analytical techniques in result analysis and presentation. Results revealed that the following stakeholders, ranked from 1-5 according to their degree of influence in regulation urban sprawl including the local government/planning authorities (mayors) (30%), the government via ministries represented in the region and city (29%), the local inhabitants (16%), civil society organisations (15%) and chiefs (10%), are the main urban development/urban sprawl regulators with the use of measures like building permits (39.3%), street provision in sprawl areas (21.7%) and demolition (13.6%). The majority of the local residents (29.9%) perceived the stakeholder response measures to control urban sprawl as inefficient, concluding that a lot still needs to be done to better regulate the situation and its associated nefarious effects in Maroua city just like in many other cities in SSA at large. The study provides a blueprint that could help to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11, which aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.