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Impact of Quality and Usage of Outdoor Spaces on Sustainable Campus Environment in Akure, Nigeria

Received: 28 February 2017     Accepted: 1 April 2017     Published: 29 August 2017
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Abstract

Sustainable academic environment has multiple benefits of fostering conducive living and learning as well as shaping student’s behavioural pattern towards sustainability practice in their future endeavours. Although an academic environment entails the interface of indoor and outdoor spaces, the outdoor spaces have received little research attention especially in Nigeria. This study focused on outdoor sustainability by examining the qualities, adequacy and level of usage of campus outdoor spaces and its infrastructures. An instrument tagged “Campus Outdoor Spaces Questionnaire (COSQ)” was used to collect relevant data from Four hundred and Ten (410) students drawn from six (6) Schools in Federal University of Technology Akure, (FUTA) Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics including frequency chart, mean score and standard deviation. The study found that the students perceived the campus outdoor spaces as well landscaped, well maintained and safe; however, they opined that the outdoor furniture, sport facilities and lighting are grossly inadequate, more importantly; the outdoor spaces lack facilities that could support learning and social connectivity. Hence, recommendations were made on strategies towards achieving sustainable campus environments, urging universities to implement outdoor projects that support learning, students’ interaction and ultimately foster sustainable environment.

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 6, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11
Page(s) 105-111
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Campus, Environment, Outdoor Spaces, Students’ Perception, Sustainable Development

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ikudayisi Ayodele Emmanuel, Adegbehingbe Victor Olufemi. (2017). Impact of Quality and Usage of Outdoor Spaces on Sustainable Campus Environment in Akure, Nigeria. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 6(5), 105-111. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11

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    ACS Style

    Ikudayisi Ayodele Emmanuel; Adegbehingbe Victor Olufemi. Impact of Quality and Usage of Outdoor Spaces on Sustainable Campus Environment in Akure, Nigeria. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2017, 6(5), 105-111. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11

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    AMA Style

    Ikudayisi Ayodele Emmanuel, Adegbehingbe Victor Olufemi. Impact of Quality and Usage of Outdoor Spaces on Sustainable Campus Environment in Akure, Nigeria. Am J Environ Prot. 2017;6(5):105-111. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11,
      author = {Ikudayisi Ayodele Emmanuel and Adegbehingbe Victor Olufemi},
      title = {Impact of Quality and Usage of Outdoor Spaces on Sustainable Campus Environment in Akure, Nigeria},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {6},
      number = {5},
      pages = {105-111},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20170605.11},
      abstract = {Sustainable academic environment has multiple benefits of fostering conducive living and learning as well as shaping student’s behavioural pattern towards sustainability practice in their future endeavours. Although an academic environment entails the interface of indoor and outdoor spaces, the outdoor spaces have received little research attention especially in Nigeria. This study focused on outdoor sustainability by examining the qualities, adequacy and level of usage of campus outdoor spaces and its infrastructures. An instrument tagged “Campus Outdoor Spaces Questionnaire (COSQ)” was used to collect relevant data from Four hundred and Ten (410) students drawn from six (6) Schools in Federal University of Technology Akure, (FUTA) Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics including frequency chart, mean score and standard deviation. The study found that the students perceived the campus outdoor spaces as well landscaped, well maintained and safe; however, they opined that the outdoor furniture, sport facilities and lighting are grossly inadequate, more importantly; the outdoor spaces lack facilities that could support learning and social connectivity. Hence, recommendations were made on strategies towards achieving sustainable campus environments, urging universities to implement outdoor projects that support learning, students’ interaction and ultimately foster sustainable environment.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AU  - Ikudayisi Ayodele Emmanuel
    AU  - Adegbehingbe Victor Olufemi
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11
    T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170605.11
    AB  - Sustainable academic environment has multiple benefits of fostering conducive living and learning as well as shaping student’s behavioural pattern towards sustainability practice in their future endeavours. Although an academic environment entails the interface of indoor and outdoor spaces, the outdoor spaces have received little research attention especially in Nigeria. This study focused on outdoor sustainability by examining the qualities, adequacy and level of usage of campus outdoor spaces and its infrastructures. An instrument tagged “Campus Outdoor Spaces Questionnaire (COSQ)” was used to collect relevant data from Four hundred and Ten (410) students drawn from six (6) Schools in Federal University of Technology Akure, (FUTA) Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics including frequency chart, mean score and standard deviation. The study found that the students perceived the campus outdoor spaces as well landscaped, well maintained and safe; however, they opined that the outdoor furniture, sport facilities and lighting are grossly inadequate, more importantly; the outdoor spaces lack facilities that could support learning and social connectivity. Hence, recommendations were made on strategies towards achieving sustainable campus environments, urging universities to implement outdoor projects that support learning, students’ interaction and ultimately foster sustainable environment.
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Author Information
  • Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

  • Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

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