Environmental and Social Stressors and Annoyances in Urban Milieux: Valuing Perceptions and Impacts on the Quality of Life and Wellbeing of Residents in a Traditional Third World City

Numerous environmental and social stressors negatively affect the general well-being and quality of life of people living in urban areas in many developing nations. The intricate relationships between poor urban infrastructure, socioeconomic pressures, and environmental degradation are best illustrated by sprawling traditional cities such as Benin City, Nigeria. This study investigates the ways in which these variables interact to affect residents’ subjective wellbeing and health outcomes. An initial list of 100 descriptive situations reflecting actual city life which was developed in a preliminary study was tested in this investigation with residents from 6 neighbourhood cohorts in an abbreviated version. Employing Mean Analyses, Principal Components Analyses and T-Tests, the study revealed that carbon monoxide emissions, flooding, epileptic power supply, noise pollution from religious centres of worship, the smells in public transport vehicles, and the dearth of motorcycles in the city were some of the key sources of residents’ annoyance. The study further revealed that the quality of life of Benin City residents has been seriously compromised and impaired by perceived environmental annoyances, resulting in undesirable health outcomes. It is recommended that urban planners employ the indicators of environmental stress as bases for planning and policy on public space and land use management to mitigate their impacts. The well-being and quality of life of city dwellers must be accorded appropriate consideration in community planning.