Nexus of Place Dependence and Public Spaces’ Utilization in Nigeria

The significance of public spaces’ use is attributed to the users’ physical and functional satisfaction through place identity. This study explores whether the usage of public space in the rural areas is related to the users’ physical and functional connection through the place identity, dependence, and familiarity across various social attributes of the rural area. The assessments of 382 users of public space who are residents and non-residents on their connections to the market squares (as a typical aspect of public space) were documented through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis (version 22) of the three case studies markets. The result of thefactor analysis and multiple regressionuncovered that there are positive connections between users’ familiarity with the market (PLF), dependence (PLD), an identity with the market (PID), and markets’ usage (OSU). Ultimately, clients’ dependence with the market (PLD) advocated partial mediation impacts in the connection between users’ place identity (PID) and market square use (OSU) in the three contextual investigation areas, with estimations of 83% (Ijebu-jesa neighbourhood), 87% (Ijeda neighbourhood), and 80% (Iloko neighbourhood) of square correlations (R2). These represented the rates of variance explained in each area’s model builds that are over 80% square correlations (R2). These justified an excellent expectation of the construct in every regions. Suggestions for stakeholders and administrators are examined, which affirmed the upgrade of the public space regions, empowering the users’ patterns, and improved planning and design methodologies.