The Urban Poor and Mobility Stress in Nigerian Cities

The explodmg rate of growth of cities poses great challenges to urban planners and policy makers in general. The proportion of urban dwellers in most Africa cities is expected to be about 61 % of the world’s population by the year 2030. Specifically in Nigeria, the propohon of the urban population in 2000 is about 43.5% and by projection, more than 50 % of the entire population will be living in urban centres by 2010. It should be noted that urban mobility is one of the challenges of the present millennium. The rapid urbanization rate has unequal consequences on the urban dwellers. In other words, the urban poor are the worst h t of this menace. Ths study therefore  argues that; despite the huge benefits accrued to cities, Nigerian urban poor are suffering from intolerably hgh levels of mobility stress courtesy povem. The concept of urban poor and mobility stress are explored, the study makes its contribution by: Identifying and discussing the mobility coping strategies that the urban poor have been forced to adopt in order to survive. The study concluded with a set of recommendations on what needs to be done to reduce urban mobility stress for the poor and non-poor in Nigerian cities.