Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses

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Author: Owusu-Ansah, Justice Kufour × Subject: City planning × Subject: Urbanization ×

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    Urban dispersal around Kumasi, Ghana
    Owusu-Ansah, Justice Kufour ( 2008)
    Kumasi, the second largest Ghanaian city, has grown rapidly recently and dispersed into its surrounding rural region. The outcome is that large numbers of incomplete houses and overgrown housing plots are spread across a large front in an unplanned and uncoordinated manner. The research used published data and interviews with homebuilders and city officials to develop an understanding of that outcome. Although transportation networks figure prominently in urban dispersal studies in western cities, this research found that transportation had less significant influence on the outcome. It found that the uncoordinated urban dispersal reflects uncertainties in land ownership shaped by administrative fragmentation and ineffective regulatory controls. These are expressed in land ownership and chieftaincy disputes, the difficult application of official regulations alongside traditional mechanisms, and gridlock in the complex framework for development controls. The results suggest some changes in local and regional actions to improve the urban outcomes. Key challenges include reorganising land development management structures, better land information systems and a rethink of ways to finance infrastructure investment in new subdivisions. In addition, improvements in housing financing mechanisms and property taxation could minimise land banking and thereby encourage speedy home construction. The links between official land administration and the practices of traditional authorities needs to be rationalised in order to enhance the system of land management. The research has provided new perspectives on suburban development with implications for urban management in low-income countries.