Today I met Prof. Alex Asiedu, Ghanaian geographer who studied urban planning, lived in Japan and has an interest in gated communities, as well as other West African urban phenomena. From our conversation I took the following:
– A large number of properties in gates estates is owned by wealthy people from less politically, economically stable or less secure African countries: Cameroon, Togo, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and predominately Nigeria. Such people enjoy coming to Ghana for holidays and to send children to university. During the interviews they do not normally wish to disclose their position or nationality to Prof. Asiedu. Many properties are also owned by Ghanaians living abroad who appoint a responsible local family member to look after the property theory flour most of the year. Ordinary Ghanaians often do not afford a house in an estate.
– There is a number of new residential areas being developed around Accra (some observed by me yesterday). Many of them arise through an individual or company negotiating with an indigenous family and starting with the development with the use the developer (not the government ) decides. Region-provided Infrastructure to such project often comes retrospectively much later.
As revealed in my earlier interview with a community spokesman most land is stool (indigenous chief) owned, not government owned. This makes the development situation different to that in Lagos.
– As with Lagos there is high level of migration from countryside to city and the authorities/infrastructure are not coping with it.
– Unlike Lagos, there are no new major cities being proposed outside of the historic Accra. (Eko Atlantic or Lekki trade zone are the Lagos examples of this). The Airport city is perhaps the closest example of such development in Accra.
– Prof Asiedu views Tema as a failed project: because of uncontrolled individual-led densification, the city became overcrowded and unpleasant. I am yet to experience Tema and the neighboring development Dawa
Below: some images of the university
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