Classical modernist planning and the menace of automobile dependence in cities: the case of Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Unequivocally, it has become increasingly clear that the approach of Classical Modernist planning (CMP) that prevailed after World War II emphasizes huge permissivity for low-density sprawling suburban development and the meteoric rise of motorization in cities. The implicit “predict and provide” approach of building and expansion of roads to ease congestion continued to skew investments on transportation towards permitting private automobile ownership and use at the expense of public transportation. As a result, the inherent menaces of automobile dependence are continuing in cities especially in the Global South including Abuja, Nigeria. This study has illustrated that the prevailing CMP system in Abuja, has continually spurred and fuelled the growth of suburbia. Consequently, the emerging automobile dependent mobility pattern is indeed plagued with the challenges of CO2 emissions, traffic congestion, and related man-hour and fuel wastage. This study reveals that by institutionalizing spatial planning strategies, such as bus rapit transit (BRT), transit oriented development (TOD) and congestion pricing, it is possible to transform sprawling automobile dependent cities to smart compact transit dependent cities. Hence, the implicit CO2 emissions and traffic congestion challenges of man-hour and fuel wastage on the AYA route in Abuja are retrofitted, and the ecological and carbon footprints are dwarfed.