Land Use Plan for Mararaba Odege-Development Area, Nasarawa Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Land use planning is both an art and a science directed toward creating functional, aesthetic, and balanced physical environments that promote order and purpose within neighborhoods. It fundamentally addresses locational efficiency among urban activity areas by controlling and allocating land use amid competing demands. Driven by existing and projected socio-economic factors, modern land use planning establishes a conceptual framework for urban and rural spatial organization to ensure optimal conditions for living, working, circulation, and recreation. As established by Hall (1974) and amplified by Button (1976), contemporary physical planning operates as a continuous, iterative process designed to deploy appropriate urban control mechanisms and monitor their long-term efficacy. This study examines the practical administration and systemic challenges of local physical planning policies in Mararaba Odege. Employing a mixed-methods approach and descriptive survey design, spatial data were captured during a field campaign in late 2024, and socio-economic data were collected in early 2025 from 50 urban planners and residents across Odege-Development Area, Nasarawa Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria utilizing structured questionnaires, GIS spatial mapping, and key informant interviews. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, weighted analytical matrices, and spatial analysis software. The results indicate that current zoning laws are only 45% effective due to administrative bottlenecks, revealing a significant gap between policy layout and practical implementation. Furthermore, the findings show that rapid informal settlements severely disrupt locational efficiency. The study concludes that proactive, continuous monitoring, geometric demographic modeling, and collaborative administrative frameworks are critical to resolving systemic land-use conflicts and achieving sustainable urban development.

land use planning, spatial organization, urban control systems, locational efficiency, environmental aesthetics

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