Land use and land values in calabar Metropolis

The government of Cross River State acquired about 280 hectares of land between 1973 and 1983. The land was surveyed and laid into a total of 274 plots distributed to applicants for residential, commercial, industrial users. Other uses include office and warehouse development. These allocations were analyzed using rental values, premium charges and development charges as prescribed by the CRS of Nigeria Gazette No. 6, Vol. 36 of 8th March, 2003. The aim of the analysis was to test a number of propositions usually supported by land economist that the structure of land values vary spatially in a city in accordance with site use potentials, and to investigate whether or not there is a significant relationship between land values and several commonly assumed characteristics of land use. The result obtained confirm that spatial variations in land values bear a close relationship to the land use configuration of the city, that as the pattern of land values change in time, land use patterns also change; and that land values generally influenced the intensity of land use in a city. The study also confirmed the view expressed in several texts that land resources can usually earn a higher return when used for commercial or industrial purposes than for any other type of use (Barlow, 1958). The paper concluded that it is not sufficient to view land use and land values in a city only from the perspective of general economic theory, that there are social as well as other factors that influence land use and land values.