Increasing Population and Its Implications on Housing Demand in the Buea Municipality

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this work was to investigate the increasing population and its implications on housing demand in the Buea municipality. The research was a descriptive survey research that made use of 90 participants drawn from three sampled quarters in Buea namely Bonduma, Mile 17 and Muea. The following research questions guided the researcher of the study, what is the nature and trend of population growth in the Buea municipality? What are the various reasons responsible for the increased population in the Buea municipality? What are the challenges with regards to housing as a result of increased population? What are the strategies that can be put in place to manage these housing challenges as a result of population increase? The instrument used for data collection was closed ended questionnaires with items aimed at getting information in relation to the questions posed. The method used for data analysis was statistics specifically frequencies and percentages. From the findings of the study in figure 2, 20% strongly agreed, 40% agreed,30% disagreed and 10% strongly disagreed that the population consist of learners, teachers, administrators, business persons and civil servants. From field observation on figure 4.3, findings reveal that majority (55%) of the population agreed to the fact that the population growth is mostly made up of the Youth as compare to the age, followed by (44%) of the population who also strongly disagree. Findings from field observation also reveal that, majority (44.4%) of the population strongly agree that Tourism is the reason for the increased population, followed by (38.9%) of the population who also agreed while (11.1%) of the population also strongly disagree that tourism is the reason for the increased population, and (5.6%) of the population also disagree.