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Sub-Saharan Africa faces major urban challenges, so many governments of the region have responded by developing national urban policies. We present emerging urban-system demographic trends in Ghana by locating our analyses at the nexus of the relationship between urbanization and societal imperatives. Our analyses show, first, that the claim that Ghana is in its urban age should be made with caution, since we identify conflicting systemwide trends. After an acceleration immediately after independence, the rate of urban growth since 2000 has slowed; the number of localities within the urban system has grown, but many of them are no more than glorified villages. Second, we relate societal imperatives to urban localities of remarkable growth to explain why they have grown. Third, we detail the emergence of a city-region around Accra-Tema, suggesting this has matured, especially under globalization. We argue that the growth of the city-region may be beginning to slow down. We conclude by suggesting ways in which our findings can inform Ghana's national urban policies and identifying three general lessons for sub-Saharan African countries., Sub-Saharan African countries face major urban challenges: 'Around 2030, Africa will enter its urban age with 759.4 million people--half of its total population--living in cities. It is projected that by […]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-5871.2008.00536.x Byline: IAN E.A. YEBOAH (1) Keywords: emancipation; ethnicity; disenfranchisement; political-economy; compulsory acquisition; Ga; Accra Abstract: Abstract Several Sub-Saharan African countries have experienced an upsurge of land claims by various ethnic groups whose lands were acquired by both the colonial and the post-colonial State through compulsory acquisition. Ethnicity has been used as the basis of emancipating some ethnic groups from perceived disenfranchisement and impoverishment caused by the State acquiring their land. In some cases such land claims result in violence that threatens the social fabric of these countries. An urban example of such a land claim has been made by the GaDangme Council (GDC) in Ghana. This paper assesses the land claim by GDC and argues that its claim of disenfranchisement is more a perception than reality. The paper also investigates why GDC perceives the Ga ethnic group as impoverished and disenfranchised. It concludes by providing structural and pragmatic ways for solving problems centred on Ga land acquisition by the State. Resolving the Ga case may provide lessons for other countries experiencing similar problems. Author Affiliation: (1)Department of Geography, 216 Shideler Hall, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, United Sates of America. Email:yeboahie@muohio.edu Article History: Received 19 October 2007; Revised 27 May 2008; Accepted 26 June 2008

There is no doubt that Sub-Saharan African countries face major problems due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that has ravaged the region. Yet the Eurocentric construction of the region as the source of the virus not only creates negative stereotypes in social science disciplines like geography, but also glosses over the potential of social science disciplines to provide knowledge and influence policy about HIV/AIDS. This oppositional construction of the region has unfortunately contributed to a glossing over of many aspects of Sub-Saharan Africa's people, their environment, culture, history, politics, economics, gender relations, and the region's global status that would provide important input for policy aimed at curbing the devastating spread of HIV in the region. This paper argues that once we recognize that HIV is a global virus with transcultural implications, social science disciplines, such as geography, can reveal certain attributes about the region and its HIV/AIDS pandemic that can be used in policy formulation to combat the spread of the virus. Keywords: Geography; HIV/AIDS; Eurocentric; Sub-Saharan Africa; Discourse; Health policy

Previous research on the nexus of global and local forces suggests that African cities such as Accra and Dares Salaam are experiencing new forms of settlement. For Accra, the new […]

The economic status of men and women in urban SubSaharan Africa has been a central research theme by anthropologists, sociologists, and political scientists over the last two decades. Most of this research, although of high quality, has not paid attention to direct comparisons of the economic status of the two genders in urban places in the region. Added to this, only the active or market-oriented population in towns of the region have been studied. Most research on urban gender economic status has been on limited areal scales, and has been couched within the formal-informal-sector framework, resulting in a piecemeal understanding of the total urban economy in the region. This paper provides a geographical and historical framework for interpreting and assessing research on gender economic status in Sub-Saharan Africa, using the Ghanaian urban system as a case study. Key words: gender, urban, economic status, Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa

Researchers have postulated the emergence of new urban forms in the Third World (TW), which are characterized by either a deconcentration of urban functions to peri-urban or smaller cities (polycentric), [...]

Although it has been suggested that structural adjustment policies have slowed Third World urban growth and have stimulated a spatial deconcentration of economic activity, this paper argues that African cities continue to grow and mainly through peri-urban development. This investment comes mainly from domestic sources and migrants’ remittances, and tends to be in consumption rather than production. Reasons include cultural factors, lack of confidence in the national economy and in the state’s long-term economic objectives, an increasing demand for housing, improvements in intraurban transport, and a desire to spread investment risk among a range of alternatives including housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]