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Urban green spaces in growing oil cities: The case of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana

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journal contribution
posted on 2018-11-02, 09:25 authored by Collins 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

ISSN

1478-3401

Language

  • en

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