THE GLOBAL POLITICAL economy has undergone rapid changes in the last two decades, which has produced an entirely new setting for urban development in much of Africa, Asia and Latin America. The reorganization has been accompanied by an entirely new type of inequality, one that is no longer geographical but rather social that cuts across nations. This has been true also of the urban system, with many major cities reasserting their importance and others facing new challenges.
This book is about Kumasi (Ghana) and its planning and management but it is considered in a context where local developments cannot be disassociated from global processes. It is necessary to be aware that more or less uniform global developments produce different effects in different places. Global economic trends such as privatization, democratization and the development of civil society have affected Kumasi in positive and negative ways, impacting on employment, physical development, utilities and transportation. The adoption of liberal economic policies has allowed dumping of goods on the local market. Instead of the city providing locally produced goods to its hinterlands it is now forced to provide used and low-quality goods from various parts of the world in return for what it receives from its neighbours. Consequently, there is a very active market for used goods of all kinds and this has stimulated local economic activity. The only parts of the city not physically changed by liberal economic policy appear to be the low-density, high-income areas, thus showing how differential results can occur even in one geographical location.
The book comprises 12 chapters covering the history of Kumasi, the spatial structure and economies of the formal and informal areas and the impact this has on housing markets, land tenure and rented accommodation. There are large numbers of tenants with a preference for rooms with shared facilities, yet the official policy for housing supply favours owner-occupiers. There is an acute housing shortage and very little new construction to alleviate this at present. The effect of privatization on public services is examined in later chapters, as are the transport and health sectors. The last few chapters look at urban financial and spatial management and review urban or town planning activities in Kumasi. Given that
most of the settlements within the metropolis were not initially planned but had plans drafted for them afterwards which were then difficult to implement, current metropolitan planning is now only concerned with day-to-day management of development. There has
been no serious opportunity to develop a long-term framework for future development. The book ends with a presentation of key findings and gives recommendations for various clearly identified urban problems.