Urban flood risk is significantly shaped by ground conditions and the built environment, which ar... more Urban flood risk is significantly shaped by ground conditions and the built environment, which are constantly modified and transformed by human actions. This paper examines the intertwinement of flood risk and unregulated urban expansion processes in three selected sites in Accra’s expanding periphery. All three sites have been included in Accra’s urban extent since the 1990s, but differ with regard to the timing of development and socio-economic characteristics of residents. The research illuminates how flood risk is produced and “built-in” to the urban fabric through widespread practices associated with unregulated urban expansion processes, especially the persistent encroachment on water retention areas, wetlands and riparian zones and the highly fragmented provision of transport infrastructure in emerging residential areas in the periphery. Such harmful development practices are neither confined to homebuilders from poorer segments of the urban population nor spatially concentra...
Abstract The Konkomba Yam Market in Accra, Ghana, is one of West Africa's largest agricultura... more Abstract The Konkomba Yam Market in Accra, Ghana, is one of West Africa's largest agricultural markets. This article undertakes a multi-dimensional analysis focusing on contests between unsuccessful government efforts to relocate the market, and local efforts to remain in place, culminating in indeterminacy. Publicly, the relocation debate pivots around competing rationales: those of government driven ‘market’ and ‘formal’ logics versus locally-based ‘rights’ and ‘informal’ urban governance. Conceptually, the article highlights how the imbroglio around the failed relocation is driven and perpetuated by both antagonistic and productive relationships between different formal and informal actors and institutions. Empirically, the case draws attention to how urban policy omissions of contextual socio-political and economic interests and power relations result in the informalisation of urban governance.
Aging occurs in a variety of social and physical environmental settings that affect health. Howev... more Aging occurs in a variety of social and physical environmental settings that affect health. However, despite their rapidly growing populations, public health research in sub-Saharan Africa has yet to address the role of residential environments in the health and well-being of older adults. In this study, we utilized an ethnographic research methodology to explore barriers and facilitators to health among older adults residing in two contrasting neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. Our specific objective was to identify patterns of health risks among older adults in the two neighborhoods. Data were collected through qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of health workers (n = 5), community leaders (n = 2), and older adults residing in a slum and non-slum neighborhood (n = 30). Our thematic data analysis revealed that, despite different underlying drivers, health barriers across the slum and non-slum were largely similar. The harmful effects of these health barriers – poor built en...
Till date, successful community-based climate change adaptation projects and programs are rare; r... more Till date, successful community-based climate change adaptation projects and programs are rare; rather, the resentment and frustration among the local populace are ever increasing. Community-based climate change adaptation programs become nothing more than a trap to circumvent the local communities to get some plans sanctioned, encoded by the external agencies. The reason is that participation is not a simple, straightforward notion. In this chapter, it is argued that given manifold comprehension of participation, its unshackled, combative frameworks and numerous as well as dubious operation methods and techniques, the actual implementation of the participatory projects and programs is in the hand of implementation agencies. Their willingness, understanding, skills, and capacities determine to a great extent how successfully local communities can be engaged in the climate change adaptation programs. If the community’s participation in climate change adaptation projects needs to be enhanced, it is critical to explore how stakeholders including government officials, technocrats, project managers, and donor agencies conceptualize and idealize community participation. But, in climate change adaptation studies, no such initiative has ever been made. This chapter aims to identify stakeholders’ perspectives on effective ways, steps and factors for ensuring effective community participation in climate change adaptation programs and projects based on a case study in the Wa West district of Northern Ghana. We interviewed key stakeholders including government and non-government official involved in various climate change adaptation programs.
RurbanAfrica is a Collaborative Project under the Seventh Framework Programme, SP1-Cooperation, F... more RurbanAfrica is a Collaborative Project under the Seventh Framework Programme, SP1-Cooperation, FP7-SSH-2011-2
About the form: The places where you are able to edit this form have been restricted. Within the ... more About the form: The places where you are able to edit this form have been restricted. Within the places you are able to edit, there are no restrictions on formatting or length. You may use bullets, draw tables, insert images, format text, etc., as you wish. To open the task pane and have Word show you regions where you have permission to edit, do the following: 1. On the Review tab, in the Protect group, click Restrict Editing.
The unplanned growth of cities and towns and the expansion of urban populations tend to overstret... more The unplanned growth of cities and towns and the expansion of urban populations tend to overstretch the resources of the state not only in terms of services and infrastructure but also of policing services. Consequently, the police and other security and crime prevention agencies of the state sometimes struggle to reach all sections of the major cities. Information gathered from the Ghana Police Service (GPS) and other studies point to an increase in the incidence of urban crime. This is without factoring in the considerable number of cases that go unreported. A 10-year aggregate of data from the Crime Statistics Unit of the GPS, for instance, shows that armed robbery cases (the most feared crime in Ghana) increased from 1,345 for the period 1980-1989 to 12,069 for 2000-2010, with cases of assault, theft and murder doubling within the same time period.
The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 2011
Distance Education has globally become one of the important solutions for increasing admission in... more Distance Education has globally become one of the important solutions for increasing admission into the universities, decongesting campuses and efficient utilization of time and space. To ensure the sustainability of the programmes‘ noble objectives calls for periodic re-evaluation of its modus operandi including the assessment of the perception of its intended beneficiaries. Using exploratory factor analysis, this study analyzes the perceptions of DE students from the University of Ghana. The results of the study show that students have positive perception on the usefulness, satisfaction and flexibility of the programme but have a negative attitude towards examination related issues. The underlying factors include the untimely delivery and poorly edited modules as well as poor arranged examination schedules.
Urban residents’ access to water, sanitation, electricity and transport, and the acceptability of... more Urban residents’ access to water, sanitation, electricity and transport, and the acceptability of services. Work Package 4: Access to services in low-income city communities
Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the authors argue that globalization with its as... more Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the authors argue that globalization with its associated global tourism and the development of new communication technologies has promoted and propagated male sex trade, a phenomenon which hitherto was unknown in the Ghanaian society. Globalization has not only conspicuously 'legitimized' homosexuality, it has festered the increasing commercialization of the act, and has thus attracted widespread opposition, resistance and debate. While a section of the society considers the act immoral due to their religious faith, cultural beliefs and attitudes, others defend it raising human rights concerns. The authors call for a civil, dispassionate, apolitical and less hypocritical way of discussing the issue devoid of criminalization, in the quest for solutions to this emerging social issue. En utilisant des methodes qualitatives et quantitatives, les auteurs de cet article tentent de prouver que le tourisme international dans la mondia...
Youth violence is a universal phenomenon and can take many shapes and forms. In Ghana the upsurge... more Youth violence is a universal phenomenon and can take many shapes and forms. In Ghana the upsurge, scale and scope of such violence in major cities are becoming worrying, making it imperative to examine the nexus between poverty, splintering youth groups, and crime. Typically, youth criminal and antisocial behaviour raise questions as to whether city authorities lack effective structures to cope with increasing urbanization or are being overly accommodating to varying crime responses, some of which are above and beyond legal policing measures. Using content analysis of media reports, archival records, scholarly literature, 50 key informant interviews (KIIs), and 15 focus group discussions (FGDs), we examine the multiple fields of youth ‘governmentalities’ and their preoccupation with security issues—issues that are of great significance to formal state institutions. Borrowing from the philosophy of methodological individualism embedded in rational choice theory, our study reveals th...
Introduction Efficient urban transport infrastructure and services are the backbone of any effici... more Introduction Efficient urban transport infrastructure and services are the backbone of any efficient city system, and the public provision of these services remains the most socially desirable option. (1) In 2013 three international think tanks (Sustainable Development Solutions Network, High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and the Global Compact) separately and collectively underscored the importance of efficient transport systems in ensuring equal accessibility to cities. Such systems are critical to reducing the risks posed by urbanization and ensuring equal participation of both the governors and the governed. In general, to provide such infrastructure services, governments and policy makers have a menu of policies to choose from, such as privatization and public-private partnership. (2) In recent times, however, there has been a decline in organized public transport in the face of rapidly urbanizing cities and rising numbers of private vehicl...
Conserving green spaces (parks, gardens, forest) in the physical landscape of cities is an action... more Conserving green spaces (parks, gardens, forest) in the physical landscape of cities is an action that has been identified as contributing to the sustainability of cities. However, to be able to conserve such spaces, some barriers need to be overcome, and this has not received much attention. This paper therefore provides measures to overcome the ‘physical’ barriers to urban green spaces in order to enhance the sustainability of such spaces in Ghana, using Kumasi as a case study. A qualitative research approach, 30 in-depth interviews, ten focus group discussions, archival data, and numerous observation sessions were utilized in the study. Kumasi city authorities, allied bodies on green spaces, opinion leaders, and residents of Kumasi constituted the study’s target population. It was discovered that conflicting ownership rights, encroachment, and poor maintenance are major physical barriers hampering the development of urban green spaces. To enhance the sustainability of urban green...
The subject of crime and poverty has long been of interest in the field of crime studies. Consequ... more The subject of crime and poverty has long been of interest in the field of crime studies. Consequently, many studies in criminology have explored the extent to which crime correlates with poverty and the mechanisms that facilitate this relationship. Based on a household survey and a qualitative study conducted in different socio-economic neighbourhoods in four key cities (Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, and Tamale), this paper explores the extent to which crime and poverty can be correlated in urban Ghana. This is interesting given the fact that limited studies have been undertaken on the subject of crime and poverty in urban Ghana, although a large body of literature exists on urbanization. The paper reveals that low-class and high-class neighbourhoods were assessed to be relatively safe compared with middle-class neighbourhoods—a conclusion that contradicts broad findings in the criminology literature. The relative safety of low-class neighbourhoods compared with middle-class nei...
Since the last formal vestiges of colonial rule disappeared in 1994, the democratically elected g... more Since the last formal vestiges of colonial rule disappeared in 1994, the democratically elected governments on the African continent have been experimenting with developmental strategies and policies. These experiments come at the backdrop that Africa’s output per head is notoriously among the lowest in the world and has, on the average, expanded slowly and haltingly since 1960, albeit, with some critical changes, and variations over place, space and time. The structural adjustment programme (SAP) in the 1980s, for example, marked a watershed: a fundamental shift from administrative to market means of resource allocation. This opinion piece, appearing in this Special Issue of the Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences on the theme “Developmental issues in contemporary Ghana”, provides an overview of Africa’s development trajectories as presented by the collection of articles, using Ghana as a test-tube.
Urban flood risk is significantly shaped by ground conditions and the built environment, which ar... more Urban flood risk is significantly shaped by ground conditions and the built environment, which are constantly modified and transformed by human actions. This paper examines the intertwinement of flood risk and unregulated urban expansion processes in three selected sites in Accra’s expanding periphery. All three sites have been included in Accra’s urban extent since the 1990s, but differ with regard to the timing of development and socio-economic characteristics of residents. The research illuminates how flood risk is produced and “built-in” to the urban fabric through widespread practices associated with unregulated urban expansion processes, especially the persistent encroachment on water retention areas, wetlands and riparian zones and the highly fragmented provision of transport infrastructure in emerging residential areas in the periphery. Such harmful development practices are neither confined to homebuilders from poorer segments of the urban population nor spatially concentra...
Abstract The Konkomba Yam Market in Accra, Ghana, is one of West Africa's largest agricultura... more Abstract The Konkomba Yam Market in Accra, Ghana, is one of West Africa's largest agricultural markets. This article undertakes a multi-dimensional analysis focusing on contests between unsuccessful government efforts to relocate the market, and local efforts to remain in place, culminating in indeterminacy. Publicly, the relocation debate pivots around competing rationales: those of government driven ‘market’ and ‘formal’ logics versus locally-based ‘rights’ and ‘informal’ urban governance. Conceptually, the article highlights how the imbroglio around the failed relocation is driven and perpetuated by both antagonistic and productive relationships between different formal and informal actors and institutions. Empirically, the case draws attention to how urban policy omissions of contextual socio-political and economic interests and power relations result in the informalisation of urban governance.
Aging occurs in a variety of social and physical environmental settings that affect health. Howev... more Aging occurs in a variety of social and physical environmental settings that affect health. However, despite their rapidly growing populations, public health research in sub-Saharan Africa has yet to address the role of residential environments in the health and well-being of older adults. In this study, we utilized an ethnographic research methodology to explore barriers and facilitators to health among older adults residing in two contrasting neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. Our specific objective was to identify patterns of health risks among older adults in the two neighborhoods. Data were collected through qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of health workers (n = 5), community leaders (n = 2), and older adults residing in a slum and non-slum neighborhood (n = 30). Our thematic data analysis revealed that, despite different underlying drivers, health barriers across the slum and non-slum were largely similar. The harmful effects of these health barriers – poor built en...
Till date, successful community-based climate change adaptation projects and programs are rare; r... more Till date, successful community-based climate change adaptation projects and programs are rare; rather, the resentment and frustration among the local populace are ever increasing. Community-based climate change adaptation programs become nothing more than a trap to circumvent the local communities to get some plans sanctioned, encoded by the external agencies. The reason is that participation is not a simple, straightforward notion. In this chapter, it is argued that given manifold comprehension of participation, its unshackled, combative frameworks and numerous as well as dubious operation methods and techniques, the actual implementation of the participatory projects and programs is in the hand of implementation agencies. Their willingness, understanding, skills, and capacities determine to a great extent how successfully local communities can be engaged in the climate change adaptation programs. If the community’s participation in climate change adaptation projects needs to be enhanced, it is critical to explore how stakeholders including government officials, technocrats, project managers, and donor agencies conceptualize and idealize community participation. But, in climate change adaptation studies, no such initiative has ever been made. This chapter aims to identify stakeholders’ perspectives on effective ways, steps and factors for ensuring effective community participation in climate change adaptation programs and projects based on a case study in the Wa West district of Northern Ghana. We interviewed key stakeholders including government and non-government official involved in various climate change adaptation programs.
RurbanAfrica is a Collaborative Project under the Seventh Framework Programme, SP1-Cooperation, F... more RurbanAfrica is a Collaborative Project under the Seventh Framework Programme, SP1-Cooperation, FP7-SSH-2011-2
About the form: The places where you are able to edit this form have been restricted. Within the ... more About the form: The places where you are able to edit this form have been restricted. Within the places you are able to edit, there are no restrictions on formatting or length. You may use bullets, draw tables, insert images, format text, etc., as you wish. To open the task pane and have Word show you regions where you have permission to edit, do the following: 1. On the Review tab, in the Protect group, click Restrict Editing.
The unplanned growth of cities and towns and the expansion of urban populations tend to overstret... more The unplanned growth of cities and towns and the expansion of urban populations tend to overstretch the resources of the state not only in terms of services and infrastructure but also of policing services. Consequently, the police and other security and crime prevention agencies of the state sometimes struggle to reach all sections of the major cities. Information gathered from the Ghana Police Service (GPS) and other studies point to an increase in the incidence of urban crime. This is without factoring in the considerable number of cases that go unreported. A 10-year aggregate of data from the Crime Statistics Unit of the GPS, for instance, shows that armed robbery cases (the most feared crime in Ghana) increased from 1,345 for the period 1980-1989 to 12,069 for 2000-2010, with cases of assault, theft and murder doubling within the same time period.
The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 2011
Distance Education has globally become one of the important solutions for increasing admission in... more Distance Education has globally become one of the important solutions for increasing admission into the universities, decongesting campuses and efficient utilization of time and space. To ensure the sustainability of the programmes‘ noble objectives calls for periodic re-evaluation of its modus operandi including the assessment of the perception of its intended beneficiaries. Using exploratory factor analysis, this study analyzes the perceptions of DE students from the University of Ghana. The results of the study show that students have positive perception on the usefulness, satisfaction and flexibility of the programme but have a negative attitude towards examination related issues. The underlying factors include the untimely delivery and poorly edited modules as well as poor arranged examination schedules.
Urban residents’ access to water, sanitation, electricity and transport, and the acceptability of... more Urban residents’ access to water, sanitation, electricity and transport, and the acceptability of services. Work Package 4: Access to services in low-income city communities
Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the authors argue that globalization with its as... more Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the authors argue that globalization with its associated global tourism and the development of new communication technologies has promoted and propagated male sex trade, a phenomenon which hitherto was unknown in the Ghanaian society. Globalization has not only conspicuously 'legitimized' homosexuality, it has festered the increasing commercialization of the act, and has thus attracted widespread opposition, resistance and debate. While a section of the society considers the act immoral due to their religious faith, cultural beliefs and attitudes, others defend it raising human rights concerns. The authors call for a civil, dispassionate, apolitical and less hypocritical way of discussing the issue devoid of criminalization, in the quest for solutions to this emerging social issue. En utilisant des methodes qualitatives et quantitatives, les auteurs de cet article tentent de prouver que le tourisme international dans la mondia...
Youth violence is a universal phenomenon and can take many shapes and forms. In Ghana the upsurge... more Youth violence is a universal phenomenon and can take many shapes and forms. In Ghana the upsurge, scale and scope of such violence in major cities are becoming worrying, making it imperative to examine the nexus between poverty, splintering youth groups, and crime. Typically, youth criminal and antisocial behaviour raise questions as to whether city authorities lack effective structures to cope with increasing urbanization or are being overly accommodating to varying crime responses, some of which are above and beyond legal policing measures. Using content analysis of media reports, archival records, scholarly literature, 50 key informant interviews (KIIs), and 15 focus group discussions (FGDs), we examine the multiple fields of youth ‘governmentalities’ and their preoccupation with security issues—issues that are of great significance to formal state institutions. Borrowing from the philosophy of methodological individualism embedded in rational choice theory, our study reveals th...
Introduction Efficient urban transport infrastructure and services are the backbone of any effici... more Introduction Efficient urban transport infrastructure and services are the backbone of any efficient city system, and the public provision of these services remains the most socially desirable option. (1) In 2013 three international think tanks (Sustainable Development Solutions Network, High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and the Global Compact) separately and collectively underscored the importance of efficient transport systems in ensuring equal accessibility to cities. Such systems are critical to reducing the risks posed by urbanization and ensuring equal participation of both the governors and the governed. In general, to provide such infrastructure services, governments and policy makers have a menu of policies to choose from, such as privatization and public-private partnership. (2) In recent times, however, there has been a decline in organized public transport in the face of rapidly urbanizing cities and rising numbers of private vehicl...
Conserving green spaces (parks, gardens, forest) in the physical landscape of cities is an action... more Conserving green spaces (parks, gardens, forest) in the physical landscape of cities is an action that has been identified as contributing to the sustainability of cities. However, to be able to conserve such spaces, some barriers need to be overcome, and this has not received much attention. This paper therefore provides measures to overcome the ‘physical’ barriers to urban green spaces in order to enhance the sustainability of such spaces in Ghana, using Kumasi as a case study. A qualitative research approach, 30 in-depth interviews, ten focus group discussions, archival data, and numerous observation sessions were utilized in the study. Kumasi city authorities, allied bodies on green spaces, opinion leaders, and residents of Kumasi constituted the study’s target population. It was discovered that conflicting ownership rights, encroachment, and poor maintenance are major physical barriers hampering the development of urban green spaces. To enhance the sustainability of urban green...
The subject of crime and poverty has long been of interest in the field of crime studies. Consequ... more The subject of crime and poverty has long been of interest in the field of crime studies. Consequently, many studies in criminology have explored the extent to which crime correlates with poverty and the mechanisms that facilitate this relationship. Based on a household survey and a qualitative study conducted in different socio-economic neighbourhoods in four key cities (Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, and Tamale), this paper explores the extent to which crime and poverty can be correlated in urban Ghana. This is interesting given the fact that limited studies have been undertaken on the subject of crime and poverty in urban Ghana, although a large body of literature exists on urbanization. The paper reveals that low-class and high-class neighbourhoods were assessed to be relatively safe compared with middle-class neighbourhoods—a conclusion that contradicts broad findings in the criminology literature. The relative safety of low-class neighbourhoods compared with middle-class nei...
Since the last formal vestiges of colonial rule disappeared in 1994, the democratically elected g... more Since the last formal vestiges of colonial rule disappeared in 1994, the democratically elected governments on the African continent have been experimenting with developmental strategies and policies. These experiments come at the backdrop that Africa’s output per head is notoriously among the lowest in the world and has, on the average, expanded slowly and haltingly since 1960, albeit, with some critical changes, and variations over place, space and time. The structural adjustment programme (SAP) in the 1980s, for example, marked a watershed: a fundamental shift from administrative to market means of resource allocation. This opinion piece, appearing in this Special Issue of the Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences on the theme “Developmental issues in contemporary Ghana”, provides an overview of Africa’s development trajectories as presented by the collection of articles, using Ghana as a test-tube.
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Papers by Martin Oteng-Ababio