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Participatory planning is a holistic paradigm entrenched in most advanced democracies to manage community planning where communities are critical stakeholders, co-owners and net beneficiaries of the planning scheme. However, the narrative is different in Rivers State and, by extension Nigeria due to the existing social disconnect and trust deficit between the proponents and beneficiaries of the planning scheme. Most times, the proponents are the government, MDAs, oil and gas multinationals, private investors, and the beneficiaries (host communities). This paper reviews the extant Urban and Regional Planning Laws- Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law NURPL Decree 88 of 1992 now CAP N138 LFN 2004 and the Rivers State Physical Planning and Development Law No. 6 of 2003 are operational in Nigeria and Rivers State. However, findings from the review indicate no section or provision in these planning laws and regulations where participatory planning is considered part of the laws. Thus, making participatory planning very difficult to achieve in Rivers State and Nigeria. Therefore, the review recommends that all extant Planning laws be amended with Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation added as sections of these planning laws. The review further generated a new framework to achieve effective participatory planning such that when included in the extant laws. This framework, if adopted, would enhance holistic, participatory planning in most communities because the community members are co-owners and critical stakeholders in the entire planning project.

Climate change-related disasters have in recent years become a global phenomenon with catastrophic consequences. Africa has had most of the consequences of climate change related disasters, resulting in monumental urban and rural flooding, widespread casualties, displacements, loss of property and sources of livelihood. Given the long-term implications of climate change, it is critically important to understand how vulnerable communities respond to the menace occasioned by flooding. The impact of the flooding is felt more in low-lying communities situated along the coastal fringes leaving inherently vulnerable communities to the vagaries of flooding. However, despite of their vulnerability to flooding disasters, some people displayed resilience capacities more than others because of their apparent access to resources and power within and outside their localities. The study investigated the issue, through the application of the qualitative approach that drew the Bourdieusian theory of practice, deploying the analytical concepts of fields, habitus and species of capital to gather useful information from relevant focus groups to understand how various forms of power was employed to capture resources that enhanced resilience capacities in the seasonal flood prone Orashi region of Rivers State of Nigeria. Following the outcome of the analysis of the information gathered from the focus group and a review of relevant literature, it was revealed that most of the vulnerable population displayed some ingrained disposition and the deployment of indigenous knowledge and social capital for adaptation to survive flood disasters. It is therefore concluded that dynamics of power is a key factor in the resilience capacities of the population of the study.

The study aimed to assess the dynamics of land use changes in the urban environment of Yenagoa City, Nigeria as to understand the changes, consequences and ameliorate the changes. Objectives of the study are to determine land use changes that are evident in the study between 1996 to 2020; identify and assess the causes and dynamics of the land use changes that are evident in the study area; ddetermine the consequences of land use changes in the urban environment of the study area; and provide physical planning measures to monitor, control and manage land use changes in Yenagoa City to promote the sustainable urban environment. The study employed a Mixed Methods Research approach of concurrent triangulation and longitudinal research designs for the collection and analyses of data in the study. The study also employed remote sensing technique, Geographic Information Systems, and time series analysis techniques to collect and analyse data for the study. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were employed for the collection of data. A total of 9 communities were chosen and sampled and 396 respondents (households) were determined and interviewed as sample size using the Taro Yamane formula. Key informants from government agencies and professionals were interviewed using their responses as themes and concepts for content analysis. The study revealed that there are significant land-use changes such as water bodies, vegetation, and built-up areas between 1996-2020. The study also identified population increases and the demand for land for urban development. The study also identified the dynamics that have caused these changes including an increase in the household size, nearness to the workplace, improve security, cheap rent, increase in migrants, employment opportunities and lack of implementation of the development plan. The consequences identified by the study include constant changes in water bodies, vegetation and built-up areas, the prevalence of flooding, encroachment to marginal lands, slum and squatter development, constant pollution, and modification of the social environment. The study recommends that; to achieve a sustainable urban development including the Yenagoa Master Plan of 2004 should be reviewed and implemented guide, control and manage urban land-use changes, the establishment of an urban land-use framework that will foster synergy of all physical planning agencies and institutions, planning and re-planning of new neighbourhoods and existing communities, continuous urban studies of land-use and environment management and encourage citizen education and participation in environmental management in the city.