Urban Sprawl and the Loss of Peri-Urban Land in Kumasi, Ghana Patrick B

World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Vol:8, No:1, 2014 Urban Sprawl and the Loss of Peri-Urban Land in Kumasi, Ghana Patrick B. Cobbinah , C lifford Amoako although its adherents argue that urban sprawl is a natural Abstract —Kumasi is Ghana’s second largest and fastest growing manifestation of growing cities and has the tendency of city with an annual population growth rate of 5.4 percent. A major creating opportunities for people to enjoy lower land and result of this phenomenon is a growing sprawl at the fringes of the housing prices [7], [12]. In the face of all these arguments, it is city. This paper assesses the nature, extent and impact of sprawl on important to note that urban sprawl as a phenomenon is at Kumasi and examines urban planning efforts at addressing this phenomenon. Both secondary and empirical data were collected from variance with controlled urban land management and physical decentralized government departments of the Kumasi Metropolitan development. Assembly and residents of some sprawling communities. The study This paper investigates the nature and extent of urban reveals that sprawl in the metropolis is rapidly consuming fringe rural sprawl in Ghana with Kumasi metropolis as the case study. It communities. This situation has weakened effective management of aims at identifying the causes and manifestations of urban the metropolis causing problems such as congestion and conversion sprawl at the peri-urban areas of the metropolis as well as the of peri-urban land into residential use without ancillary infrastructure and social services. The paper recommends effective and timely challenges and opportunities of urban sprawl around Kumasi. planning and provision of services as well as an overall economic The study concludes with analysis of efforts being made to development and spatial integration through regional planning as a manage urban sprawl and proposes solutions to control the way of achieving a long term solution to sprawl. phenomenon in Kumasi and other cities in Ghana. Keywords —Kumasi, peri-urban, urban planning, urban sprawl. II. URBAN SPRAWL AND PERI -URBAN DEVELOPMENT - A CONCEPTUAL VIEW I. INTRODUCTION The concept of ‘sprawl’ was developed by Earle Draper in HE concept of urban sprawl has been described by 1937 in the United States of America [13], and this term has Tdifferent scholars using major themes such as economic been used by city planners to refer to a wasteful type of urban sprawl [1], geographical sprawl [2] and transportation sprawl growth [5]. Urban sprawl is a pattern of uncontrolled [3]-[5]. Other writers have interpreted urban sprawl as development around the periphery of a city, and is an resulting from increasing urban densities, land use and racial increasingly common feature of the built environment segregation [6], [7] as well as population growth. From the especially in the industrialized nations [14]. The phenomenon foregoing, urban sprawl has been conceptualized as a non- reduces the orderly physical development that produces contiguous and unplanned expansion of urban areas which is economically efficient land use and management at the fringes characterized by low density physical development and the of rapidly urbanizing cities. As cities expand, the main zone of non-existence of basic municipal infrastructure usually beyond direct impact is the peri-urban area. The manifestation and urban fringes. impact of urban sprawl are therefore felt most in peri-urban Some early researchers of urban development have communities. At these peri-urban communities, development attributed the emergence of sprawl to the ‘monocentric city is patchy, scattered and spread out, with a tendency for model ’ [8]-[10]. This model suggests that spatial structure of discontinuity. urban areas results from the tradeoff between the rent of land Gilham and Maclean [15] relate peri-urban development to and cost of commuting. The low cost of commuting from peri- urban sprawl as urban sprawl fundamental refers to the urban areas to the city center coupled with relatively low rent emergence of low density residential development usually at the peripheries of cities in many developing countries are beyond a city’s limit. This is supported by [4] who describe facilitating the growth of peri-urban areas. Other factors such urban sprawl as a phenomenon characterized by low density International Science Index, Humanities and Social Sciences Vol:8, No:1, 2014 waset.org/Publication/9997496 as the desire of urban dwellers to flee poor governance, lack of leapfrog development, concentration of population and planning and poor access to amenities [4], [11], result in the economic activities in peri-urban areas and segregation of land rapid sprawling of cities. Urban sprawl is a direct result of uses. From a conceptual perspective, a major relationship systemic failures in urban development control policies, between peri-urban development and urban sprawl is the loss of the traditional livelihood in agriculture of peri-urban P. B. Cobbinah is with the Institute for Land, Water and Society, School dwellers resulting from competition for peri-urban land due to of Environmental Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury-Wodonga the rapid expansion of the city. The resultant effect of the Campus, P. O Box 789 Albury, NSW 2640 Australia (phone: 61-0412749960; e-mail: [email protected]). urban sprawl phenomenon is the engagement of peri-urban C. Amoako is a lecturer and director of undergraduate studies at the dwellers in urbanized less profitable economic activities such Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and as petty trading, commercial and other related livelihood Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, (e-mail: [email protected]). International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 8(1) 2014 313 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/9997496 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Vol:8, No:1, 2014 activities. regional [18]. New development patterns can also be observed Peri-urban areas continue to experience significant physical around smaller towns or in the countryside, along and socio-economic changes as cities continue to sprawl. transportation corridors, and along many parts of the coast Notable among these changes is increases in land values. As usually connected to river valleys [18]. Hot spots of urban land prices rise, poor people are priced out of even the less sprawl are also common along already highly populated desirable areas by middle-income and high income earners. coastal strips, such as in the case of Spain where artificial The poorest are often forced into temporary settlements. areas may cover up to 50 percent of the total land area. This is Urban land is thus managed by market forces and peri-urban a concerning trend given the known vulnerability of coastal land is lost to the more preferred urban activities ahead of ecosystems, and because the Mediterranean region is planning. Disputes over the control of peri-urban land often classified as one of 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world. give rise to social conflicts which affect the transparency of Moreover, local community life has been weakened, if not urban land market and management systems. destroyed, by urban sprawl [5]. In examining urban sprawl in India, [19] challenged the III. THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIO -ECONOMIC MANIFESTATIONS conceptualization of urban sprawl by [26] and argue that OF URBAN SPRAWL ascribing sprawl as a pattern of land use alone does not Available evidence on sprawl demonstrates conclusively emphasize the underlying processes, causes and hence that urban sprawl has accompanied the growth of urban areas consequences. In a developing country like India, where across the world including United States of America (US) [4], population densities are high with significant urbanization [16], Europe [7], [17], [18], and India [19]. The physical and rates, urban sprawl cannot be characterized by land use pattern socio-economic manifestations of urban sprawl across the alone but processes, causes and their consequences [19]. above mentioned regions are explored in the following Hence, [19] altered the definition of urban sprawl as the paragraphs. pattern of outgrowth emergent during the process of urban The causes of urban sprawl in the US are attributed to lower spatial expansion over time caused by certain externalities and commuting cost, rising incomes, and government tax, a consequence of inadequate regional planning and expenditure and zoning policies as well as the willingness of governance. In India, urban sprawl is caused by lack of households to take advantage of peer externalities, avoid effective governance with operational systems and processes traffic, noise, crime, and to have homes with enough space and in local bodies of governance, which have resulted in greenery [4], [14], [20]. Urban sprawl in the US is unplanned and uncoordinated urban outgrowths. characterized by peri urban development. Residents of Global assessment of sprawl reveals stark differences in sprawling cities find it difficult to travel even short distances terms of physical and socio-economic outcomes across the without using an automobile, due to the remoteness of regions. In the US, the phenomenon is characterized by residential areas and the inadequacy of available means of increasing growth in suburbanization resulting in long transport such as mass transit, walkways, or bike paths [16]. commuting distances and associated difficulties. Urban sprawl The negative effects of urban sprawl on American cities in Europe is however, concentrated in countries with high include health inequalities [21], pollution and environmental population growth and economic opportunities. In India, the degradation [22]. The smart growth model has been pursued in sprawling of cities is caused by poor planning and the US as an alternative to sprawl [16], despite several management of urban areas. criticisms that the smart growth model reduces property values, increases the cost of housing and disrupts existing IV. DETERMINANTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN communities [23]-[25].

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