Grass roots modernism: Architecture and organization in austrian settlements and allotment gardens, 1921-1925

This chapter presents a case study methodology to address the interplay of government bureaucracy, urban governance, urban planning/development policy and the political economy implications of housing development in the Port Harcourt (PH) metropolitan area of Rivers State, Nigeria, in the past three decades. Of the few urban centers in Nigeria, PH was developed at the turn of the twentieth century in 1913-14 by the then colonial administration based on British town planning ideas and principles as well as colonial segregation practices. The Government Residential Area (GRA) was characterized by wide curvilinear avenues and good quality low density housing surrounded by gardens. Different strategies were adopted for the developments including Land servicing for urban housing development in Port Harcourt. The problem of adequate and affordable housing in the PH urban region as in the rest of Nigeria’s urban center needs to be addressed holistically and not piecemeal as the current approach suggests.