ABSTRACT
Medium size towns in Africa do not fullfill their potential for promoting equitable development. In many countries they are inadequate and lack the infrastructure and facilities as well as transportation and communication linkages needed to promote regional growth, social transformation and spatial integration. This makes it necessary to bring order to the size and function of settlements. The deliberate planning of new areas of population concentration will enable a redress in the present inequalities in the distribution of basic services and infrastructure which are at present concentrated in the dominant cities. Since medium size towns are destined to play a very crucial role in the development of spatial systems, their future is inexorably linked to the whole system. It is therefore imperative to predict changes in and plan for the total system as a prerequisites for the planning of individual towns. In Kano State Master Plans were prepared in 1971 by a Yugoslavian Firm, Entergoproject Engineering and Consulting company for seven towns which were the administrative area centers of the state. The plans were prepared to guide the development of these (vii) towns up to 1996. With about five years more in its lifespan, the plan for Kano appears to be inadequate for the role it is required and is being prepared to play over time as a medium size town. This study therefore is aimed at proposing a new physical development plan for Kano based on a review of Entergoprojects Plan which will enable it serve as a medium size city in the urban hierarchy system of Kano state. It is conducted in two parts. The first part involves empirical studies where relevant literature is reviewed. Also data collected was analyzed in order to define a functional hierarchy for the twenty nine urban centers in the state. A model which apportioned weights to chosen variables is used and centers are ranked relative to the weights they carry. It is found out that Kano Metropolis exhibits elements of regional primacy and the absence of medium size towns in the state is clearly revealed by the ranking system. This is largely because of the role the metropolis has been playing in the regional development of the state which deprives the other center of basic services and infrastructure that will enable them exert development influence on the communities around them. The second part looks at the Master Plan proposals for Kano which was prepared by Entergoproject to guide the changing functions of the town up to 1996. Proposals on (viii) population and socioeconomic characteristics, employment and economic base, land use, housing, infrastructure and facilities were appraised. The main conclusion from this study is that most of the proposals are too general and devoid of any strategy of accompanying this change. A study of the physical and socioeconomic conditions of the town at present indicates that the proposals in the existing Master Plan are inadequate for the role the town is expected to play. Physical characteristics such as land used, housing and infrastructure; and socioeconomic conditions such as occupational pattern, educational status, household size and income all indicate that the basis of development that was taken for the proposals for 1996 ( a period that has yet to cover five more years) have been overtaken by events in the town. Practically, every urban activity has grown to a much larger proportion than envisaged by the Master Plan. Considering the current realities of the town and the observed trends in the growth of various land uses, a new physical development plan has been proposed. This it is hoped will rationalize the land use by accommodating present development and infusing further growth in the town so as to transform it into a medium size city within Kano State.