Analysis Of Urban Structure And Healthy City: Ede Metropolitan City In Perspective

Recent studies on urban structures in Nigerian cities have focused on a work trip and transportation, urban decay, population explosion and urban land use crisis in major urban centres like Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan which are the main commercial centres and industrial hubs of the nation. Studies of urban spatial structure concerning city health in medium-sized cities and towns like Minna in Niger state, Akure in Ondo state and Osogbo in Osun have received little or no attention not to talk of smaller cities like Otukpo, Ede, Otan-Aiyegbaju, Saki and others in that category. The scantiness of these studies has made it difficult to have access to adequate and appropriate information and database for any effective and meaningful planning for urban planning and the health of inhabitants of cities in this category. Hence this study examines the internal structure of Ede metropolitan city concerning its health. Ede, the traditional home of the warlord in Yoruba land, is one of the most important towns in the old Oyo Empire. As a theoretical work, secondary data sources were explored to analyse the spatial structure of the city growth, health and land use. The study recommends among others the identification and replacement of the rundown structure, the provision of basic amenities and concludes that the adherence to the above-suggested ideas will go a long way in ensuring a fair and sustainable healthy city in Nigeria that will be in line with the demand of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG).