The spatial chaos of Ghana’s major cities - Finding sustainable solutions
The haphazard infrastructure development in Ghana’s major cities calls into question the effectiveness of our planning institutions and law enforcement.
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Property developers have embarked on scattered projects which have no overall impact on the cities visual form because they are disconnected.
These projects have become disfigurements in cities such as Accra and Kumasi, and have deviated heavily from the architectural character of the neighbourhoods within the cities.It is worrying because of the abundance of extremely talented architects, engineers and planners in the country, and the numerous planning related laws that can right these wrongs.
It is worrying because of the abundance of extremely talented architects, engineers and planners in the country, and the numerous planning related laws that can right these wrongs.
In the past, Tema stood out as the perfect example of a planned city. Constantinos Doxiades’ 1961 master plan for Tema was designed for a population of 300,000, but the inability of the authorities to implement the plan fully has led to Tema suffering the same fate of disorder as Kumasi and Accra. The 1956 master plan of Kumasi was not put to good use, neither was the 1968 comprehensive plan of Accra.
Climate change has necessitated effective and anticipatory planning to combat the potential effects of natural disasters. The heavy development pressure in major cities such as Accra and Kumasi makes climate resilience questionable.
Government policies are not in tandem with the rate of development pressure experienced in these cities, and more importantly, public health, safety and welfare of community members are not the guiding principles of these developments.
For instance, the siting of gas stations in non-conforming zones, the extension to existing residential facilities without a permit and the proliferation of churches in residential zones have become common in most neighbourhoods in the major cities.
Again, due to the lack of housing facilities, coupled with the high cost of land in inner city neighbourhoods in Kumasi and Accra, sprawl has set in. There is the need to stimulate infill development and urban revitalization within the core of these cities to address the housing needs.
The focus should be on rejuvenating inner cities with a mix of housing, commercial and retail uses. Multi-family low-rise, multifamily mid rise and multi-family high-rise residential types covering different income brackets should dominate housing types for increased density in the inner city.
With such an ambitious vision, the visual form and structure of these cities will be achieved. The fragmented land ownership in these cities requires the active participation of chiefs, property owners, real estate developers, and most importantly the local government. Stakeholder participation will take away any political perception and ensure policies have a smooth implementation.
The training of more spatial planners and urban designers in our tertiary institutions is a matter of urgency. In 2008, only 64 out of the 170 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) had professional planners.
All MMDAs should have licensed spatial planners who can readily interpret the zoning requirements to developers and the general public and ensure that developers have a thorough understanding of maximum coverage of land, maximum height and bulk of building, density standards and contextual design, and its relevance in giving structure and form to the district, even before development permits are sought.
The issuance of special exceptions should be done sparingly and with due diligence and should inure to the benefits of the district.
The guiding principle should be that any scheme design presented to the District Assembly for a permit should be guided by a design philosophy that will contribute positively to the district, and not be a disfigurement to the architectural character of any community in the district.
The Government of Ghana needs to develop policies that will guide the growth of cities in Ghana. For instance, in the United States, the Federal policies enacted from 1940 through 1980 accounted for the contemporary urban sprawl and ultimately the urban form of American cities.
The Federal Government financed infrastructure development in housing, transportation and industries in the urban periphery making suburbs the desired destination of many.
It also built generous incentives into policies that encouraged businessmen to select sub-urban locations over urban ones and awarded tax breaks to contractors who built factories on the urban periphery. Good roads, an abundance of land, automobile availability, low gasoline prices and businesses on the urban periphery were what led to sub-urban sprawl in the United States. Sub-urbanisation thus requires cars, highways and government-guaranteed mortgages. Ghana’s economic situation makes it difficult for such incentives to be given, hence the need for effective urban growth control policies.
The District Assemblies, Lands Commission, Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, National Development Planning Authority, Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority and the relevant institutions all have an important responsibility in helping to mitigate the myriad of problems associated with urban sprawl and sub-urbanisation.
The enforcement of planning-related laws such as the National Building Code, Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, Local Governance Act, Farm Land Protection Act , Public Lands Protection Act, State Lands Act, Town and Country Planning Act, Towns Act, Land Planning and Soil Conservation Act are enough to ensure orderly development in our cities.
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The writer is an urban designer at Habitance Hub, an urban planning and design studio in Accra, Ghana. [email protected]