posted on 2018-11-02, 09:25authored byCollins Adjei Mensah, Katherine V. Gough, David Simon
Crude oil is often argued to be a natural resource that holds the prospect of accelerated economic development, although the results are mixed. This paper explores how the discovery of crude oil is impacting on urban development, focusing in particular on urban green spaces in Sekondi-Takoradi, a growing oil city in Ghana. Representatives from institutions associated with the management of green spaces, opinion leaders, farmers and residents of the city were interviewed to discover how the provision and use of green spaces has changed over time. High population growth and increasing housing market pressures, in part driven by expectations of an oil-driven boom, are resulting in encroachment, rezoning, and low priority accorded to green spaces, including farmlands, wetlands, forests, parks and
gardens. To address this situation, the article recommends strong public-private collaboration on green space initiatives, prioritisation of green space development agendas, intensive educational campaigns on such spaces, and a strong institutional base to enhance the enforcement of development controls and implementation of green space projects.
Funding
This research is part of the ‘African Rural-City Connections’ (RurbanAfrica)
research project, funded by the European Union under the 7th Research Framework
Programme (theme SSH), Grant Agreement no. 290732.
History
School
Social Sciences
Department
Geography and Environment
Published in
International Development Planning Review
Volume
40
Issue
4
Pages
371 - 395
Citation
MENSAH, C.A. ... et al., 2018. Urban green spaces in growing oil cities: The case of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana. International Development Planning Review, 40(4), pp. 371-395.
Publisher
Liverpool University Press
Version
AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal International Development Planning Review and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.3828/idpr.2018.16
Acceptance date
2018-07-27
Publication date
2018
Notes
This paper is in closed access until 31st October 2020