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As discourse on transnational labor migration continues to highlight the influence of structures on the experiences and existence of caregivers, Canada's economic immigration and status regularization programs are not excluded from the discussions. Particularly, the Canada (Live-in) Caregiver Program (henceforth LCP) introduced in 1992 has gained attention from popular and scholarly cycles despite being the only economic immigration program that guarantees permanent residency status to applicants after fulfilling the mandatory program requirements. Drawing from 19 empirical studies, this systematic literature review discussed some emerging themes from the LCP. From the studies reviewed, it was found that both current and former caregivers continue to bear the direct brunt of caregiving given their positionality as mostly racialized women from low-income countries. Moreover, among the range of issues discussed, homelessness, food insecurity, and the deteriorating health conditions of care workers are some pressing issues that need urgent scholarly and policy attention. These findings underscore the need for periodic reassessments of the LCP to understand the intersectionality of current and emerging issues—as the program has greater potential to meet rising care needs in Canada, but only if the living conditions of caregivers are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smallholder farmers in Ghana’s Savannah ecological zone face multiple climate stressors. Government and non-governmental organizations have introduced educative demonstrations on sustainable agriculture practices to help them cope. However, the effectiveness of these strategies in enhancing smallholder farmers’ climate resilience needs examination. Our study, guided by the Resilience Theory (RT), aimed to explore factors that shape smallholder farmers’ climate resilience and how their participation in Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) and Climate Action Plans (CAPs) affect their resilience to climate change. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey of 517 smallholder farmers in the Upper West region of Ghana using ordered logistic regression. Our findings showed that smallholder farmers’ “good” climate change resilience was associated with participation in Farmer Field Schools (OR: 7.809, p < 0.001) and active involvement in Climate Action Plans (OR: 1.976, p < 0.01). In addition, household food security (OR: 4.412, p < 0.001), access to credit (OR: 1.761, p < 0.01), and larger household sizes (OR: 2.255, p < 0.01) were associated with “good” climate resilience. However, larger land size (OR: 0.988, p < 0.01) and attainment of primary education (OR: 0.497, p < 0.01) showed a lesser likelihood of having “good” climate resilience. The study highlights the importance of practical learning platforms and participatory planning in improving climate resilience among smallholder farmers. Policies and programs should support these initiatives, improve resource accessibility, and tailor educational approaches. Our recommendations include expanding FFSs, integrating CAPs with agricultural services, developing scalable, adaptable, and sustainable agricultural practices, enhancing resource accessibility, and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems for these initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines residential satisfaction and the factors that influence it within the context of Harare's selected informal settlements (Hopley, Hatcliffe extension and Epworth ward 7). The study presents interesting findings from regression analysis; some of which challenge the dominant narratives that characterize deprived neighbourhoods as having low residential satisfaction. From the bivariate (OR = 1.600, p < 0.05) and multivariate (OR = 1.647, p < 0.05) analyses, residents with strong social networks have higher odds of being very satisfied with their residence compared to residents with weak social networks. Also, long-time residents (OR = 1.671, p < 0.01) were found to be very satisfied with their residence compared to newcomers. Additionally, respondents who agreed to receive help from local politicians have higher odds (OR = 1.851, p < 0.01) of very satisfied residential satisfaction compared to those who did not receive help from local politicians. Furthermore, place attachment is significantly associated with very satisfied residential satisfaction. Residents with high place attachment (OR = 1.535, p < 0.05) are more likely to be very satisfied with their residence compared to those with low place attachment. The implications of the findings for urban policy and practice are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, some scholars have not only written against the concept of immigrant integration but have called for its rejection and abandonment. Critics argue that the concept is normative, objectifies others, mirrors outmoded imaginary of society, orients towards methodological nationalism, and a narrow emphasis on immigrants in the forces defining integration progression. Nonetheless, the concept continues to receive academic and policy attention. Against the backdrop of this polarized view, this paper raises an important question relating to the benefit or otherwise of writing against the concept of integration in the field of integration studies. Specifically, the paper asks: Is it appropriate to write against and reject the concept of integration? The paper responds to this question from a provocative conceptual perspective. Here, the paper argues that when the concept is purged of its inherent criticisms and rather reconceptualize as a wicked concept, it still offers a unique analytical spectrum with which scholars can approach several substantive critical questions regarding immigrants' integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, a handful of human geographers have started writing on the topic of 'wisdom'—a research field that has long been dominated by philosophers and psychologists. Existing human geography writings on wisdom encompass issues such as international migration, cross-cultural interactions, and boundary conditions in personal wisdom development. Conspicuously missing from the current human geography scholarship on wisdom is the role of transnational engagements in wisdom development. This paper addresses this important gap and provides new vistas of a theoretical contribution to geographies of wisdom through the optic of transnationalism. Building on Dragos Simandan's seminal work on geographies of wisdom and subsequent empirical studies, this paper discusses three distinct transnational engagements through which immigrants can similarly develop wisdom: transnational political engagements; transnational cultural engagements; and transnational economic engagements. While the chosen transnational engagements are not exhaustive, the paper aims that these three types will kindle thought-stimulating discussions concerning geographies of wisdom. By rescaling the study of geographies of wisdom through transnationalism, we also aim to contribute to a better understanding of the nexus between wisdom development, transnationalism, and international migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-Saharan African cities have experienced remarkable transformations in their built environments over the past two decades. Ghana's Accra-Tema City-Region (ATCR) is undergoing such a transformation in spaces produced to house the administrative, business, and military arms of colonialism. We map the production of the built environment of one such space, Cantonments, under two regimes of accumulation: colonial (including neocolonial) and globalization. We attempt to explain the production of the built environment of Cantonments under globalization by referring to two emerging frameworks: frontier urbanization and speculative urbanism. Based on these frameworks' futility, we offer an alternative explanation for the changing built environment of Cantonments. Our explanation is based on the interaction of a more footloose global capital and local agency, realizing an opportunity to profit. Ghana is still an exporter of ecologic and geologic resources to the core and semi-periphery, and a market for manufactured goods from these places. Transnational Corporations (TNCs) operating in the country are unwilling to provide housing for their expatriate and local senior employees because they have become footloose in their operations. Within the context of spatial policy, local capitalists have stepped in to meet the housing needs of TNCs thus continuing to produce Cantonments as a high-income residential enclave. In the process, the Ga ethnic group has been dispossessed of lands in Cantonments whereas local capitalists have accumulated wealth. We highlight the right to the city implications of our findings and conclude with the need to contextualize emerging theories in the context of local empirical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization and the spread of neo-liberal models of urban restructuring have resulted in the rise in gated communities worldwide, including in Africa. The on-going scholarly debate revolves around the drivers of gated communities, their impacts and implications on the planning and management of cities. To contribute to and advance scholarly debate on gated communities and the challenge of urban transformation, we used standard systematic procedures to synthesize findings from 31 peer reviewed journal articles from 1990 to 2020, that examine the phenomenon of gated communities in African cities. Despite the differences in study settings, key findings emerge from gated community studies in Africa. Majority of the reviewed studies attribute the emergence of gated communities to the rise in crime and the search for good quality living environment. Globalization also plays an important role in facilitating new market-oriented gated communities. The globalization of lifestyles of the urban elite has also found expression in African cities. Reviewed studies are critical of gated communities for promoting spatial fragmentation, privatization of public space and local governance and for propagating socio-economic inequality and urban segregation. These issues have implications for the planning and management of cities; in terms of balancing between the need for secure neighbourhoods and promoting inclusive urban societies. The systematic review makes a case for re-thinking urban models that inform the production of new urban spaces; with a view to balance between private capital interests and the need for spatial justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, climate change is impacting the incidence and distribution of climate-sensitive infectious diseases (CSIDs). The effects of climate change on infectious diseases are an important public health concern and necessitate effective prioritizing of resources for optimal responses, especially for the developing economies context where basic health services and capacities are challenged. To develop a coherent response to the potential incidence of climate-related outbreaks, and to longer-term altering disease patterns, there is the need for improved information upon which to base the mainstreaming of climate change into health planning. An essential way through which such information can be generated is prioritizing disease risks vis-à-vis public health threats under climate change. Using Ghana as a case study, a multicriteria evaluation approach was used to assess CSIDs that present the greatest risks and threats to public health under climate change based on a set of disease prioritization criteria. Expert opinion, morbidity data on CSIDs, and data from literature were utilized to undertake the disease prioritization. From the assessment, it emerged that epidemic-prone CSIDs (diarrhea, cholera, and meningitis) pose the greatest risks to public health. This prioritization provides a glimpse of the risks and threats that prevailing CSIDs would pose to public health under climate change. Further, it provides a preliminary model that can guide public health decisions in Ghana and other similar contexts in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study takes an in-depth look at the roles and utility of consultants in local economic development, focusing on whether there is ultimately a need for this outsourcing of policymaking. Through a series of in-depth interviews with municipal officials and consultants from Ontario, focus is specifically on place branding, a subfield of place-based local economic development. The findings indicate that while the consultants and local officials view themselves as vital in the policy development process, the use of consultants for most communities is actually problematic, as they generally lack the in-depth local knowledge needed for successful place branding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although homeownership is recognised as an important marker of immigrant integration in Canada, overall evidence suggests a declining trend in homeownership among immigrants in the last two decades. The factors scholars have focused on in their attempt to explain immigrant housing trajectories and overall homeownership trends tend to be dominated by immigrant characteristics and the circumstances prevailing in the housing market. This research extends this attempt at understanding immigrant housing trajectories by examining the influence of remittances. Using data from the longitudinal survey of immigrants in Canada we applied negative log-log regression modelling techniques to examine the influence of remittances on homeownership over time among recent immigrants in Canada. The results indicate that participation in remittance has negative consequences for homeownership over time. The findings make a case for the inclusion of immigrant transnational engagement in the attempt to explain immigrant integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food is essential to life-yet the spatial and economic configuration of the conventional food system does not meet nutritional needs and exacerbates issues of food insecurity. Relevant options for policy change have been explored in light of evaluations of geographic disparities in food access, but the dominant 'food desert' discourse often focuses uncritically on insufficient conceptions of access. Understanding the complexity of food deserts is important for moving into meaningful policy action. We present a theoretical position to inspire future empirical research. The ecological model recognizes both endogenous and built environment factors in shaping health. Interventions in the food environment, however, often concentrate exclusively on structural determinants of health (e.g. retail-based initiatives). Yet retail-based interventions are difficult to implement due to governance systems which limit the ability of government bodies to influence private retail development. As well, recognizing the complexity of debates over the influence of structure and agency, we apply structuration theory to food deserts. Behavioral economics further informs both structural and behavioral determinants of health. This approach sidesteps the issue of victim-blaming, as all consumers are viewed as 'predictably irrational' in decision-making. In combining these theories, we challenge methodological and theoretical assumptions by showing the complexity of food desert interventions. Policy recommendations focus on behavioral determinants of health and the opportunities for empowerment through local food systems. These recommendations recognize the limits of translating research into policy and in devising effective food based interventions, and are sensitive to social, economic, and political constraints uncovered throughout the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration remains an important strategy for livelihood security in sub-Saharan Africa. Like other parts of the region, migrant flows within Ghana have historically been directed towards urban, mineral, and plantation economies. This study, however, examines a new pattern of migration related to rural livelihood that has intensified in recent decades largely in response to mounting environmental pressures and worsening poverty. Using in-depth interviews and focused group discussions and drawing on perspectives from the livelihood approach and political ecology, this paper examines the challenges confronting farmers who flee poverty and environmental pressures in Ghana's Upper West Region and migrate to the agriculture-rich area of Brong Ahafo Region to farm for subsistence. The study revealed that migrant farmers' acute lack of social assets and agrarian resources in these remote enclaves not only hampered their productivity but also subjected them to exploitative and exclusionary practices in these remote, host communities. The study contributes to the understanding of social of realities migrant farming as an emerging safety valve for the rural poor and makes relevant policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the issue of municipal collaborative policymaking and economic development efforts. We emphasize two major contributions in the conclusion: first, from a scholarly perspective, this article bridges the information gap in the existing scholarship, which has demonstrated municipalities' willingness to collaborate but has provided little evidence of collaboration on common efforts; second, from a policy perspective, initiatives discussed in this article could serve as a platform to build economic development strategies that are more comprehensive and sophisticated than currently employed. Information is from in-depth interviews with eighteen (n = 18) economic development practitioners in the province of Ontario, Canada. Overall, municipal practitioners interviewed for this study demonstrated a strong affinity for collaborative economic development efforts, which clearly represents a marked departure from the earlier reports of competitive attitudes and unwillingness to collaborate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipalities in Ontario, Canada are increasingly adopting place branding as a policy strategy, to promote economic development-that is, to attract investment, tourists, labour force, and residents. This study examines the extent of branding in the province of Ontario, Canada, through a comprehensive content analysis of municipal branding as presented through logos and slogans. This analysis affirms that place branding is a widely used practice in Ontario, but that there are classes of municipalities with specific characteristics ( size, type, and location) that use logos and slogans less frequently. Thus the results of this study suggest Ontario's municipalities may not be reaping the expected benefits in their place branding efforts, as some municipalities are falling behind the rest of the province in their ability to promote themselves. The paper recommends that municipalities need to consider re-examining their branding strategy to maximize the opportunity for future economic development while demonstrating fiscal responsibility and sound public governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This article examines the association between sense of community belonging and unmet health-care needs among individuals in Ontario, Canada, after adjusting for predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with health-service use. Subjects and methods: This study is based on data from Statistics Canada's 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey. A sample of 21,257 individuals aged 12 and older was analyzed. Logistic regression was conducted to examine the association between sense of community belonging and unmet health-care needs. Results: The study found that one in ten individuals reported having unmet health-care needs. Sense of community belonging had a significant independent effect on unmet health-care needs. Respondents with a weak sense of community belonging were 1.27 times more likely to report having unmet health-care needs. Respondents who were younger, were females, had a higher education, or were without a regular doctor were more likely to have unmet health-care needs. Other factors associated with unmet health-care needs included poor physical health, poor mental health, difficulties in carrying out instrumental activities of daily living, and chronic conditions. Conclusion: The findings of this study emphasize the need to develop health-care policies and programs that appropriate and meet the needs of individuals with different health-related problems alongside the need to increase sense of community belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In some communities in the Province of Ontario, Canada, economic development functions have been outsourced from departments within the city structure to external organizations such as economic development corporations (EDCs). This study takes an in-depth look at the activities of EDCs, with a focus on the rationale for outsourcing, EDCs' policies and strategies, cooperative efforts, and the challenges EDCs face. The paper is based on extensive interviews with 21 CEOs/presidents of these corporations. The findings indicate that EDCs are typically private-public partnerships that exist at local and regional levels, that this approach is part of a comprehensive strategy to deal with the changing field of economic development and the uncertain global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

im: The present paper is an original research that explores housing satisfaction and residents' ability to cope with day-to-day demands, taking into account other dimensions of housing and sociodemographic factors. Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional survey ( n = 562) was randomly administered to residents in three neighbourhoods (Labone, Asylum Down and Nima) in Accra, Ghana. The association between the outcome variables and housing attributes were analysed using logistic regression. Results: The findings indicate that housing satisfaction was significantly predicted by age, with older people more likely to be dissatisfied with their housing arrangement. Respondents were dissatisfied with housing arrangements if they lived in Nima [odds ratio (OR) = 2.75, p < .001], Asylum Down (OR = 1.72, p < .01), crowded households (OR = 1.158, p < .05) or in compound houses (OR = 2.50, p < .001). In the context of housing attribute variables, respondent's ability to cope with day-to-day demands was significantly associated to their income level. Odour annoyance as an indicator of housing condition emerged as a strong predictor of respondent's inability to cope with daily demands with OR ranging from 1.68 to 2.33. Those who were dissatisfied with the location of their home as a place to live also reported poor coping abilities (OR = 1.86, p < .01). Discussion and conclusions: From the findings, government policy on housing should encourage the construction of more affordable housing units to ease the crowding situation in Accra. There is also a need for the Accra City Council to provide clearer guidelines for both tenants and landlords in response to increasing tenancy disputes in context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In metropolitan Accra, Ghana’s economic and administrative hub, the global phenomenon of the gated housing estate is burgeoning, representing a substantial part of the new housing market. It has a recent history dating back only to the neoliberal era of the mid-1990s. Because it is a new phenomenon in Ghana very little is known about the motivations and contentment of residents, interactions within and outside the gates, and perceptions toward gated residents. This paper takes the first step by providing empirical insights from three communities (Manet Court, Devtraco Villas, and Regimanuel Estate) located in Metropolitan Accra. The data suggest that perceived concern for security is the primary motivation for the residents to live in these communities. Contrary to findings of other studies, the current research reveals that there are appreciable levels of interaction among the residents in these communities, although such interaction exists purely on the economic level, with gated housing estates providing a considerable level of low-income employment opportunities to surrounding residents. The paper concludes by identifying some of the key urban planning challenges that have so far accompanied gated housing development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews the smart growth concept- and identity-specific principles that could be adopted by rapidly growing African cities. Given the macroeconomic reform changes over the last two decades and given the persistently high natural population growth and continuous influx of rural residents to urban areas, the application of these principles may ensure sustainable urban development. The main assertion of this paper is that due to the rapid spatial expansion of major African cities in recent years, a more informed and thoughtful approach to urban development is needed to achieve efficiency and long-term sustainability. The current urban development pattern, which is dominated by unlimited outward extension, low-density residential developments, and haphazard patterns, is unacceptable. This pattern is destroying prime agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands, while increasing air pollution and traffic congestion. This paper suggests that these problems can be addressed by the adoption of smart growth principles. Smart growth principles promote compact urban development by concentrating growth in existing urban areas. The principles also encourage creating a strong municipal government with the authority to implement land-use legislation and regulations, developing a comprehensive physical plan to guide the location and timing of development, committing strongly to manage urban areas, and providing a wide range of housing choices that are affordable to residents of various incomes, ages, and lifestyles. The central idea of smart growth is that structured and strategic planning supports economic growth, addresses community needs, and protects the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]