Conceptualizing urban space (environment) for the delivery of sustainable urban development in Africa: evidence from Enugu City in Nigeria

In recent decades, the concept of urban space has undergone transition from its traditional physical concept to a social concept that reflects the human context. The transition, which reside in social sciences narrative, defines the human context of urban space from different behavioral perspectives. The analytical frame of this narrative shows that the fundamentally polysemic meaning of the terms space, place and territory are used interchangeably to designate urban space. The urban space is therefore construed as ‘public space’ or ‘urban place’ where community activities find expression. There exists potential concern in the search for sustainable urban development that this social narrative of urban space is most probably not disposed to exact leverage on land use policy for enhanced spatial integration. This paper argue that the social narrative, which sustain conceptual planning, is antithetical to spatial planning and land use integration. The absence of the spatial context of urban space is a fundamental gap in knowledge that subordinates land use integration. Scientists lean on the principle of totality to consider the conception of urban space as a natural system that is compliant with integration. Accordingly, this paper attempts to conceptualize urban space as a natural spatial system that encourages land use policy change in which individual right for instance is subordinated to spatial integration. The paper engages triangulation of mixed research methods to examine existing notions of urban space (environment).