Patterns of Population Growth in Peri‐Urban Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Urbanization in Africa (and the wider developing world for that matter) has often been misunderstood by Western observers on the lookout for Western‐style cities and suburbs. In these parts of the world, rapid urbanization has led to continuing changes in the form and shape of cities, as peri‐urban zones shift swiftly from rural to urban. While some descriptions of the peri‐urban zone suggest an amorphous area filled with low‐income residents, others argue that the zone is highly diverse. Using population census data, spatial modeling and regression analysis, we show that urban expansion at the edge of the city of Accra, Ghana, is not amorphous and does indeed show some discernible patterns. These patterns are represented by four hypotheses tested in this study — the spreading pancake, development node, village magnet and ribbon hypotheses. While the assumption that urban growth occurs in concentric rings around a central city (represented by the spreading pancake model) holds for Accra, this pattern of growth combines with other patterns to create a still‐evolving urban form in the city's peri‐urban zone. These include clustering of growth around a port city, a number of old villages and along improved highways radiating from the city. Résumé En Afrique (et dans le monde en développement en général), l'urbanisation a souvent été mal comprise par les observateurs occidentaux en quête de villes et banlieues de type occidental. Dans ces parties du monde, l'urbanisation accélérée a entraîné des modifications constantes dans la conformation des grandes villes, les terrains ruraux périphériques devenant rapidement des zones urbaines. Selon certaines descriptions, la périphérie est amorphe, envahie d'habitants à faible revenu; selon d'autres, elle est empreinte d'une grande diversité. À l'aide de données de recensement, d'une modélisation spatiale et d'une régression statistique, on peut montrer que l'expansion urbaine aux limites de la ville d'Accra au Ghana n'est pas amorphe et qu'elle présente des schémas tout à fait identifiables. Ceux‐ci correspondent aux quatre hypothèses évaluées dans cette étude: la crêpe étalée, le pôle de développement, les villages aimantés, le ruban. L'idée que la croissance urbaine se diffuse en cercles concentriques autour d'une ville centrale (modèle de la crêpe étalée) s'applique à Accra, mais ce modèle est associéà d'autres schémas pour créer une forme urbaine en évolution permanente dans sa périphérie. On trouve ainsi une concentration de croissance autour d'une ville portuaire, de plusieurs villages pré‐existants, ainsi que le long de grandes routes rénovées qui rayonnent à partir de la ville.

Analyzing Growth Patterns of Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area Using GIS and Multiple Regression Techniques

“…This explains why, according to our estimates, 90.5% of the population of GKMA lived within 4 kilometres of a highway as of 2010. This phenomenon has also been observed in other African metropolitan areas (see Briggs & Mwamfupe, 2000;Doan & Oduro, 2012;Grant & Yankson, 2003;Mabogunje, 1990). For example, Doan & Oduro (2012) found that, as of 2000, about 90% of the population of peri-urban Accra lived within 4 kilometres of a highway, which is very similar to what we found in GKMA.…”

“…This model addresses the effects of road networks on urban spatial structure (see Chin, 2002;Doan & Oduro, 2012;Harvey & Clark, 1965). Progress in transportation technology and use of private automobiles has made it possible for urban residents to commute over long distances to the CBD and the suburbs.…”

Some Important Observations on the Populations of Hooded VulturesNecrosyrtes monachusin Urban Ghana

“…Accra had a human population of 377,558 in 1960 which increased to 1,657,856 in 2000 [10,11]. In 2010, Accra had an urban population of about 2.9 million and a metropolitan population of about 4 million [12].…”

Urban Growth and Livelihood Transformations on the Fringes of African Cities: A Case Study of Changing Livelihoods in Peri-Urban Accra

“…It involves various transformations on the edges of large cities, such as transformation of existing rural settlements into urban settlements without necessarily displacing the rural residents (UNFPA, 2007) and changes in the structure of the peri-urban local economy, including changes in both sectorial composition of economic activities and labour force (Webster & Muller, 2002). It also involves changes in demography, social structure, land use, land use management and architecture in the peri-urban zone (Simon et al, 2004), as well as increased demand for land in peri-urban communities where indigenous and long-term settlers have depended on agriculture for centuries (see Oduro & Doan, 2012). example, a household may choose to produce its own food because it has access to land or some household members may participate in waged employment because they possess some employable skills (Rakodi, 2002;Scoones, 1998).…”