Resilience to climate change in Ghanaian cities and its implications for urban policy and planning

Abstract

City authorities across the globe have resolved to make their cities sustainable and inclusive. However, resilience of cities to climate change, which is a vital component of the sustainable city development process, is a challenge, especially in the global south. This paper sought to critically examine the resilience of Ghanaian cities and explore ways to enhance their resilience in a sustainable manner. To address this key objective, answers to the following specific questions were sought: (1) Are the Ghanaian cities prepared to face future climate uncertainties? (2) How resilient are the Ghanaian cities? (3) What is the way forward for building resilience in the Ghanaian cities? The paper draws on urban resilience studies from academic databases such as SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar and ERIC. Focusing on disaster management, green infrastructure, land-use and urban planning, institutional structures and community engagement in the analyses of literature, the results show that Ghanaian cities remain vulnerable and largely dependent on human activities to achieve resilience. For instance, there is limited financial support for disaster response and understanding of urban resilience principles. More so, failure to enforce land-use planning regulations has led to the growth of unauthorised development, waste management problems and destruction of urban green spaces. The study provides a valuable contribution to the discourse on resilient cities in urban areas by specifically addressing the challenges related to urban resilience to achieve sustainable cities in Ghana. We propose that capacity for disaster risk reduction, institutional collaboration and enforcement of urban planning regulations should be strengthened. Keywords Cities • Climate change impact • Urban Ghana • Urban resilience • Urban management

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