Exploring the Influence of Street Network on Commute Well-being in Abuja City, Nigeria

Improvement of street network to ensure well-being in cities has become a global concern in the recent years. Tremendous efforts have also been made to determine the influence of urban road network on societal wellbeing. However, well-being has usually been evaluated by considering objective influence of transportation system. The subjective or personal well-being of transport network is scarcely explored in developing world cities. This study therefore evaluates the connection of street network in Abuja city. It also measures personal well-being; individuals’ satisfaction with different indicators of commute well-being, overall enhancement in lifestyle and compares satisfaction with commute well-being between the districts. Results indicate that majority (60%) of districts in Abuja city have low street connectivity. About 22.5% of the districts have moderate street connectivity. Only 17.5% districts, mainly those located at the inner-city have high street connectivity. Results also reveal that there are differences in satisfaction with commute well-being among the districts. The Post-hoc result shows a statistically significant difference in well-being between low and high connected districts, suggesting that there is more satisfaction and commute well-being in the high connected districts than in the less connected districts of Abuja city. The outcome of this study implies that it is necessary and imperative to focus and intensify effort towards developing more road network in the districts with very low street connections so as to curtail regional imbalance. Such will not only ensure good environment, but also control traffic speed, reduce delay in public transportation, improve journey time and local economy. Consequently, this will safeguard commute well-being and social equity among the entire dwellers of Abuja city.