Abstract
Housing provision remains a major challenge in rapidly urbanizing cities in developing countries, particularly Nigeria, where many governments controlled social housing projects struggle to respond to residents’ long term functional needs. This study examines the post occupancy performance of social housing in Lagos State through a Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) of Festac Town, a landmark planned housing estate originally developed in the 1970s. The research investigates whether the architectural design of the estate adequately meets residents’ functional and socio economic needs over time or primarily reflects aesthetic and planning ideals conceived at the point of development. A case study research design was adopted, employing a mixed method approach that combined quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. Data were obtained through electronic questionnaires administered to residents, semi structured interviews, and direct site observations. Questionnaires were distributed, of which sixty-five responds were retrieved and sixty were valid for analysis. In depth interviews were conducted with ten residents to gain deeper insight into housing use patterns, resident satisfaction, and reasons for building modifications. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically to support and explain observed trends. The findings reveal a high level of resident driven modification within the estate, with 72% of respondents reporting alterations to their housing units. Common modifications included shop extensions and additional rooms, primarily motivated by income generation, increasing family size, security concerns, and the need for modernization. Residents’ satisfaction with housing units was generally moderate to low, with dissatisfaction linked to space inadequacy, aging infrastructure, and limited flexibility of the original housing layouts. While Festac Town remains successful in terms of overall planning structure, location and historical context its long term functional performance has relied heavily on residents’ adaptive interventions. The study concludes that Festac Town illustrates the gap between architectural intent and lived experience in social housing developments. It highlights the importance of incorporating flexibility, socio economic responsiveness, and continuous post occupancy evaluation into housing design and policy to ensure long term functionality, resident satisfaction, and sustainability in urban housing projects.