Geographical information system application in site suitability analysis for hostel development in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

This paper investigates the application of GIS in site selection analysis with the aim of selecting the most suitable site for developing a new hostel block within the ABU Samaru campus space. To achieve this, a spot-5 image of ABU Zaria Samaru campus was used to bring out the land use and land cover of the area so as to determine the available and suitable spaces. The study created weight maps for each factor and a digital elevation model was created to determine aspect and slope. This study identified seven vacant sites in ABU Samaru campus, which were ranked based on the suitability factors of; distance to roads, distance to academic areas, the presence of existing hostel facilities, distance from gullies, distance from water bodies and the size of the area. This study recommends the space by the North Gate that extends to just behind quarter 3, the space between drama village and staff school and the space and the space between the school gym and NUGA gate as highly suitable, very suitable and suitable respectively in descending order.