The Perception of Residential Desirability in the Western Region of Nigeria

This paper attempts to extend the investigation of geographic space preferences, focussing particularly on their development and their change from childhood to adulthood, and on the flows of information from which such images are formed. The data used is from Lagos and Western Nigeria. First, the area, the participants, and the questionnaire are explained. Then the space preferences of the area (from five locations) for four age groups from thirteen to twenty-three are described, and the differences between the groups are mapped. The changes over time in these space preferences are discussed, and linked to ideas on the flows of information which help form perception surfaces. The mass media, migration, travel experience, and family membership are discussed. The paper concludes with some hypotheses on the nature of space-learning.