POLITECNICO DI TORINO Repository ISTITUZIONALE ACCRA AIRPORT CITY. A Phronetic Study of Urban Development Theory, Practices and Forms at the Intersection of Global and Local: the Case of a West African Central Business Original ACCRA AIRPORT CITY. A Phronetic Study of Urban Development Theory, Practices and Forms at the Intersection of Global and Local: the Case of a West African Central Business District / Pavani, Arturo. - (2017). Availability: This version is available at: 11583/2669686 since: 2017-04-21T16:50:27Z Publisher: Politecnico di Torino Published DOI:10.6092/polito/porto/2669686 Terms of use: openAccess This article is made available under terms and conditions as specified in the corresponding bibliographic description in the repository Publisher copyright (Article begins on next page) 10 October 2021 ACCRA AIRPORT CITY A Phronetic Approach to Urban Development Theory, Practices and Forms at the Intersection of Global and Local: the Case of a West African Central Business District Candidato: Arturo Pavani Tutor: Matteo Robiglio XXVIII° Ciclo di Dottorato Corso di Laurea in Architettura, Costruzione e Città Dipartimento di Architettura e Design Politecnico di Torino Aprile 2017 ACCRA AIRPORT CITY A Phronetic Approach to Urban Development Theory, Practices and Forms at the Intersection of Global and Local: the Case of a West African Central Business District Candidato: Arturo Pavani Tutor: Matteo Robiglio XXVIII° Ciclo di Dottorato Corso di Laurea in Architettura, Costruzione e Città Dipartimento di Architettura e Design Politecnico di Torino Aprile 2017 ABSTRACT n the field of African urban studies, contemporary authors tend to agree upon the fact that current research should focus on its ability to have ‘a real impact’ on the urban environment. Academic research has in fact the power Ito provide better analytical tools for its quantitative and/or qualitative under- standing, which would enable the practitioners and stakeholders in charge of its development to make better-informed decisions. In time, the academic world and the world of practice seem to have grown farther apart, something that is evident from the instruments that they utilize. The market reports upon which Real Estate developers and governments base their decisions use first-hand data and interviews to give a ‘feel’ of the market, while academic literature mostly relies upon theory and abstraction. Scientific research has the power to shed the light on otherwise inexplicable trends and dynamics, but it somehow seems fail to connect with the decision makers that have the actual power to affect the evo- lution of the contemporary urban environment. Recognizing the values of both worlds, this thesis attempts to counter this phenomenon by reversing the traditional deductive approach of urban research. Here, the forms and dynamics that shape the urban environment are investigated by combining the instruments of market analysis and academic research, using a problem-driven and phronetic approach that starts from local practices and later reframes them within scientific literature. This thesis first analyzes the scientific theory about African and Global cities and then, a specific case study, the Airport City business district in Accra (Ghana) to investigate what are the specific char- acteristics that influence its urban and architectural development, starting from the analysis of its practices and forms. These are elaborated to form what Clifford Geertz’ conceptualized as a ‘thick description’, which is used to contextualize the issues that emerge from the analysis within its specific social and cultural context. Interviews, photographs, first-hand data and documents are utilized to illustrate the characteristics of the case study, outlining its specificities and the power dynamics behind them. The themes that emerge from the analysis of the- ory, practices and forms are successively integrated within the broader scientific discourse. Ultimately, they are evaluated according to the phronetic planning research method with the goal to elaborate proposals for practical action towards their improvement. This research’ purpose is to expose, understand and effective- ly communicate these issues, improving on the specific knowledge about African cities, Accra, and the implications that the local dynamics that it unearths might have within the global urban picture. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 08 1.1 : A Phronetic Study 12 1.1.1. The Gap 1.1.2. Phronetic Planning Theory 1.1.3. This Research 2. CITIES: AFRICAN/GLOBAL/ORDINARY 42 2.1 African Cities 46 2.1.1. Narratives 2.1.2. Urbanization 2.1.3. African Cities? 2.2 Global Cities 96 2.2.1. Globalization 2.2.2. Urban Globalization 2.2.3. Architecture Globalization 2.3 Ordinary Cities 126 3. ACCRA AIRPORT CITY 128 3.1 West African Business 132 3.1.1. Lagos 3.1.2. Abidjan 3.1.3. Accra 3.2 Background 158 3.2.1. From Port to Airport 3.3 Forms 166 3.3.1. Plans 3.3.2. Sections 3.3.3. Photographic Survey 3.4 Practices 194 3.4.1. Urban Evolution – Nat Nunoo Amarteifio 3.4.2. An Inno-Native Approach – Joe Osae-Addo 3.4.3. Sustainable Real Estate – Carlo Matta 3.4.4. Building in West Africa – Jimmy Castagna 3.4.5. An Italian Architect in Ghana – Alessandro Masoni 3.4.6. Abidjan: The Francophone Choice – Ivan Cornet 4. RESULTS 264 Forms 1: Architecture 268 4.1 Architecture Issues 272 4.1.1. The Profession 4.1.2. Sustainability 4.1.3. Construction Forms 2: Access 288 4.2 Urban Issues 292 4.2.1. Planning 4.2.2. Informality 4.2.3. Land Rights Forms 3: Market 316 4.3 Research Issues 320 4.3.1. Data 4.3.2. Theory 4.3.3. Knowledge Production 5. CONCLUSION 336 5.1 ‘So What’ issues 340 5.1.1. Architecture 5.1.2. Urban 5.1.3. Research BIBLIOGRAPHY 344 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 364 1 INTRODUCTION 8 1 INTRODUCTION 9 10 n the contemporary urban studies landscape, the adoption of a phronetic approach fits well within the generally shared appeal about urban research’ need to ‘emanate ‘from’ rather than ‘towards’ the African city (Mbembé & Nuttall, 2004). IPhronesis, as defined by Bent Flyvbjerg (2001), is practical wisdom on how to address and act on problems in a particular context. The goal of phronetic social science is to pro- duce research that has relevance to decisions about what can and should be done, and how to do it. Phronetic planning research explores current practices and historic circumstances to find solutions to practical problems. The underlying idea is that practical rationality, like judgment, is best understood through the exposition to case studies – whether experienced or narrated. Flyvbjerg argues that the development of social research is inhibited by the detachment between its abstract results and ‘real’ practice, which is why phronetic research anchored to its specific context, its actors and issues. Not being organized around specific methods of data collection, its only discriminant is to choose the strategy that best promotes change regarding the issues at hand. The result of phronetic research is a pragmatic interpre- tation of the practices. The construction and expression of a point of view whose purpose is to incrementally increase the level of knowledge about a specific context and the issues that characterize it, with the goal of positively influencing practical action towards their improve- ment. In that sense, the African urban environment can be a source of both inspiration and de- spair, but it definitely deserves more research, especially given its scale, the models of innova- tion and the implications that its dynamics have an influence on – both globally and locally. 11 1.1 A phronetic study 1.1.1. The Gap Contemporary urban research, and social sciences at large, is rede- fining its role within society, the academic discourse, and the realm of profession. The approaches and methodologies utilized in social sciences are evolving, and the advent of modern technologies has expanded ex- ponentially the number of instruments available to researchers. Satellite imagery, big data, GIS, and university networks now provide research- ers with tools and means unimaginable just twenty years ago. When it comes to urban research in the African continent, the relative scarcity of theoretical work combined with the logistical difficulties in conducting local research have contributed to great levels of experimentation when it comes to research methodologies and approaches. It is important to be open to a wide range of methodologi- cal approaches – from literary criticism or archival analysis to statistical surveys and geographical information systems science. The terrain is quite wide open and we need an ecu- menical appreciation of the tools in the toolkit. One major gap, in fact, is evident in the continuing dearth of data col- lected under comparable conditions. (Myers, 2010, p. 21) Such experimentation is a necessity rather than a virtuous exercise. ‘Whether or not Africa’s prospering ‘cheetah’ nations of the 2000’s will continue to match optimists’ expectations of interconnected economic growth and improved governance over the coming years as they have over the past decade, there is little question that urban centers will be a moving target for urban analysts, who will seek to keep pace through the rapid and experimental adoption of new methodological and analytical frameworks’ (Brennan, 2013, p. 38). As also Edgar Pieterse (2014) notes in his Epistemological Practices of Southern Urbanism, contemporary re- searchers have little choice but to rely on what is available in spite of the profound imprecision that characterize data sets on urbanization in Africa. It is evident that there is a dearth of data and knowledge about both the qualitative and quantitative dimensions of cities in much of Africa (Myers, 2010). Previous page Rene Magritte, La Clairvoyance, 1936. Source: ReneMagritte.org 12 This can be connected to the long-term erosion and under‐invest- ment in higher education institutions in the postcolonial era, but also to the institutional reforms that African universities have been subjected to, paralleling neoliberal reforms in the global North, even though to begin with the foundation of these universities were already precarious and under‐funded (Pieterse, 2014).