It is universally accepted that housing is humanity’s third most essential need after food and clothing. Rapid population growth and increasing urbanization have led to overcrowding in urban housing, homelessness and overstretching of existing infrastructure and services. This paper examines the various construction materials that are readily available in abundance in Nigeria and construction techniques used in building to support housing for the urban poor. It appraises the architectural functions and values of these materials and their potentialities as common and affordable building materials. The paper concludes that with the application of applied building research and general acceptance of locally available materials and building construction techniques, the problem of the high cost of building materials that make it difficult for the urban poor to have their own housing would be greatly resolved in Nigeria urban centers.

Housing is essentially one of the basic needs of man. After food and clothing, it constitutes the third necessity of life. Research have shown that more than half of the world’s 6.6 billion people live in urban areas, crowded into 3 percent of the earth’s land area (UNCHS, 1993). The proportion of the world’s population living in urban areas, which was less than 5 percent in 1800 increased to 47 percent in 2000 and is expected to reach 65 percent in 2030 (UN study as cited in Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah). However, more than 90 percent of future population growth will be concentrated in cities in developing countries and a large percentage of this population will be poor. In Africa and Asia where urbanization is still considerably lower (40 percent), both are expected to be 54 percent urban by 2025 (Fadairo and Ogunmakinde, 2011). The population of Nigeria is over 150 million (Nigerian National Population Census, 2006) and is still rising at an annual growth rate estimated at 3.2% (allAfrica.com, 2008). As a result of this, Nigeria has a large and increasing housing deficit which stood at approximately 8 million housing units in 1991 and between 12 and 14 million housing units in 2007 (Fadairo and Ogunmakinde, 2011).