The Home as Workplace: Investigating Home Based Enterprises in Low Income Settlements of the Lagos Metropolis

The paper critically examines the phenomenon of Home Based Enterprises (HBE‘s) in low income residential areas of the Lagos Metropolis. The research adopts a purposive selection of thirty one low income residential neighbourhoods in the Lagos Metropolis. Data was obtained by the administration of structured questionnaires and analysis was done by both parametric and non-parametric methods. Random sampling of 394 home based enterprises was carried out. Issues examined include housing and environmental conditions; nature as well as types of home based enterprises and socioeconomic characteristics of operators. These include age, gender, and income, household size and level of education. The social network and informal institutions as well as the urban planning implications of these HBEs were also considered. The research revealed the importance of home based enterprises as a major source of income generation and socialization in urban areas. Recommendations include the adoption of case-specific planning models, consideration of cultural contexts in planning and the adoption of local economic development strategies in city design and development.