THE IMPACT OF INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS ON OVERCOMING POVERTY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NIGERIA

Marcel-Okafor, Udochukwu O.S.  Mnia, Maarches   and   Ibe, Pepertua

Department of Architecture,

Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State

Email: uosmarcelokafor@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Industrial clusters constitute an array of linked industries and other entities important to competition. Industrial clusters serve as an employment index reflecting the relative size and economic strengths of local industries. Characteristic to these clusters is the   uniqueness of their function, where the companies possess similar or complementary interests and the entire value chain exists within the cluster thus providing a holistic approach to employment and service delivery.  Poverty and environmental degradation continue to attract regular inter-disciplinary debate mainly due to the fact that they, on one hand, affect all aspects of human existence and on the other hand represent an inextricable connection between population explosion and uncontrolled urbanisation which remains a growing trend in Nigeria, making the poverty-environmental degradation nexus a challenge which every generation attempts to find solutions for their abatement. This paper examines the role of industrial clusters in the Nigerian built environment, highlighting the efforts of various governments in the take off of these cluster industries and the extent to which these cluster arrangements have abated poverty and environmental degradation.

Keywords: Industrial clusters, Poverty, Environmental Degradation, Built Environment, Urbanisation.