Contested Development as Urban Transformation: The Case of Accra, Ghana

Keywords: urban poor, slum, basic services, urban development policies, Ghana
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

This study explores the impacts of urban development policies and practices on the urban poor in Accra, regarding access to basic services. The urban poor are often neglected by the state, which leaves them open to diverse challenges, and makes their lives more difficult and vulnerable. They are mostly found in run-down neighborhoods, popularly called slums. Slums lack basic services including housing, potable drinking water, health facilities, schools, toilet facilities, electricity, and waste management systems among others. Issues of slum dwellers are further complicated by consistent harassment, evictions, and destruction of their residences and belongings by the state, city authorities, and some powerful individuals, to make way for redevelopment. As urban (re)development has become a priority globally, this study investigates the focus of urban development policies and practices in Ghana, their impacts, and the challenges of the urban poor in Accra in accessing basic services. The study employs the mixed method, but largely ethnographic, involving participant observation and fifty interviews in five selected slums in Accra. The study also uses the critical approach to deconstruct secondary data from public documents, archival data, media reports, newspaper articles, and YouTube. The study found that policies in recent decades have largely favored the rich to the detriment of the poor, especially after the adoption of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). Besides, some policies and practices have complicated the challenges of the urban poor. The study recommends more state protection and improvement of living conditions of the urban poor in the country.