Urban Governance a Veritable Tool in the Management of Metropolitan Areas; Case of Jos City-Metropolis in the Developing World

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine urban governance as a veritable tool in the management of urban areas by examining the characteristics of good urban governance and the role of physical planning in urban governance in Jos Metropolis, this is with a view to make recommendations for the management of cities in Nigeria. The methodological approach adopted is both quantitative and qualitative with deductive-inductive reasoning using the case study embedded mixed method design. The qualitative based evidence from 50 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with registered Town planners working in the 4 case studies (planning authorities have 2 as policy formulating and 2 implementing), and from the documents reviewed relating to urban governance and management on the case study area Jos Metropolis, Nigeria. The thematic and content analyses were used to analyse the face-to-face interviews and archive documents. The results revealed that the ‘ urban governance" means: the process of decision-making and the procedure by which decisions are implemented through formal and non-formal actors and governments’ intention to the use of the national urban development policy and the urban and regional planning law of the 1992 are veritable tools used but did not achieved control in the Urban Metropolis, hence, the haphazard and uncontrolled developments manifested in developments beyond the boundaries of the various settlements within the Jos Metropolis, Nigeria. Based on the results obtained, an outline of the roles of physical planning in ensuring governance is used as a veritable tool in the management of cities and urban areas expected to help policy makers, practitioners and the academia.