Cooperative Housing in Greater Accra

COOPERATIVE HOUSING IN

GREATER ACCRA Ghana’s capital city is struggling with housing delivery. What can it learn from the Amui Dzor Co-op?

Authors: Bernard Adarkwah, Isobel Araujo, Adam Davis, Jacob Rosenblum, Maggie Schafer

CONTEXT: FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO HOUSING DELIVERY INEFFICIENCIES History Economy Demographics Land Use

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CONTENTS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TABLE OF

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COOPERATIVE HOUSING AS A SOLUTION: A CASE STUDY OF THE AMUI DZOR CO-OP History and Context of Cooperative Housing in Ghana The Amui Dzor Co-op Broader Implications

CURRENT HOUSING CONDITIONS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROBLEM Housing Deficits in Greater Accra Infrastructure Deficits Financing Affordability

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CONCLUSION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

HOW DID GREATER ACCRA’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEFICIT COME ABOUT? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT LESSONS CAN THE REGION LEARN FROM THE AMUI DZOR CO-OP?

COULD PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN COOPERATIVE HOUSING CLOSE THE GAP LEFT

BY AN OVER-RELIANCE ON FORMAL, PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT? Right: Informal coastal community in Accra Left: Meeting at Amui Dzor

The Greater Accra region of Ghana serves as the country’s political, economic, and cultural capital. Since the 1980s, the region has pursued liberalization efforts aimed at making it a global hub – yet despite its successes in attracting foreign investments, quality of life for most residents has decreased, with the percentage of Ghanaians living below the poverty line to jump from 9% to 23% between 1988 and 1992. This has led to a stark division between the formal and informal sector, which can be seen in the economy, and more specifically, in housing.

The Greater Accra region faces difficulties with housing delivery methods due to a variety of factors. At the center of this is the divide between the formal communities represented by peri-urban “new cities” and the informal communities that serve the majority of the city’s inhabitants. Most Ghanaians cannot afford the housing built for formal communities, leading to a severe housing deficit. Self-built housing in informal communities has become a norm, and land acquisition,

cost of building materials, access to finance, and access to infrastructure serve as barriers to affordable housing. public health issues. Further, much of the housing in informal communities lacks access to basic infrastructure such as latrines, leading to public health.

While housing investment in the Greater Accra region currently focuses on bolstering luxurious formal communities, the gap left by this can be felt acutely in informal communities. Cooperative housing provides a compelling alternative to private-sector housing provision in Ghana, yet despite its lower cost per unit, just 48,000 of the country’s 3.4 million housing units are cooperatively built and maintained. The story of the Amui Dzor cooperative in Accra’s peri-urban zone provides a compelling case for how cooperatives could help fill the housing gap. Through a complex web of NGOs, banks, government entities, international funders, architects, and local savings groups, Amui Dzor has been able to house 36 families at $46 monthly rent with a 10year path to unit ownership.

To better answer these questions, this report addresses the following in relation to Greater Accra: The Context: Factors Contributing to Inefficiencies in Housing Delivery The history, economy, demographics, land use, and transportation patterns of the region influenced the current housing situation by creating a complex web of global, neoliberal interests mixed with local traditions.

The Problem: An Examination of Current Housing Conditions The Greater Accra region currently experiences housing and infrastructural deficits, and access to affordable housing, land, and financing leaves many residents in sub-standard living situations.

Findings show that, while Amui Dzor is an impressive case study of how collective action and innovation can provide improved housing to the residents of Greater Accra, the general policy landscape of Ghana is not sufficiently supportive for cooperative housing to operate at scale.

The state must provide subsidized land to meet the scale of the housing deficit, and one-stop-shops for cooperative housing technical assistance combined with greater education about cooperatives would make the process far less complex.

As President Mahama predicts that 63% of Ghanaians will live in urban areas by 2050, these reforms are especially urgent.

Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op Though currently uncommon, cooperative housing does have some history in Ghana and can be seen as a potential solution to Greater Accra’s housing deficit. The Amui Dzor Co-op in the peri-urban areas of Greater Accra presents an interesting case study for cooperative housing.

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CONTEXT: FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO HOUSING DELIVERY INEFFFICIENCIES

The history, economy, demographics, land use, and transportation patterns of Great Accra influenced the current housing situation by creating a complex web of global interests and local traditions.

Historical map of Guinea Coast circa 1725 by Herman Moll

Almost everyone owned land in precolonial Ghana. Land in pre-colonial Ghana was abundant while population density was low resulting in small or non-existent taxes. Every member of a community had rights to a reasonable amount of land except strangers and slaves who worked for well above minimum sustenance.

Pre-1471 Most Ghanaians own land and enjoy an equitable standard of living.

The land tenure system ensured that land would not be accumulated by only a few communities by protecting against “artificial scarcity.” 1 Land, however, could be made scarce if certain communities lost power. The policy resulted in low rents, few men working for others, and a monolithic agricultural labor force. There was a near equal distribution of income, housing, and food.2

1471-1500 Europeans arrive and establish forts along Ghana’s coast.

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1800s The slave trade begins the British take control over all coastal forts establishing the Gold Coast.

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Families and communities cultivated the land to grow crops like yams, millet, and rice.3 By 1471, the Portuguese had arrived and began mining gold using Sao de Mina as a lodge 12 years later.

They bartered with native merchants for gold cloths, linen, other goods, and enslaved peoples.4 The English and French arrived in the 1530s to trade with Ghanaians for their gold. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, the Dutch arrived in the Gold Coast, with other European nations not far behind. The number of foreign forts on Ghana’s southern shore grew exponentially. The eventual invaders would change the way of life and economy of the Gold Coast..5 Before the end of the nineteenth century, gold and ivory were highly sought-after commodities that tied Europe to Ghana and the Gold Coast.

1920’s Ghana becomes the world’s largest exporter of cocoa.

1957 Ghana achieves independence from the colonial power and the economic focus shifts to industrialization.

The shift to humans as a commodity happened during the 18th century. In July 1874, the British established the Gold Coast Colony and Protectorate allowing the jurisdiction to be exercised only at the castles and forts along the coast.7 The colonial empire then became more intrusive on the Gold Coast with the passing of the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, which allowed the empire to control the land that the forts and castles sat on.

King Aggrey challenged this Act by telling English governor Conran that Cape Coast was not British territory, but British colonization proceeded the next 48 years.8 The Gold Coast and Protectorate were the first to suffer colonization with the empires in the north withstanding as the British used divisive tactics to break apart alliances and confederacies.

Accra became the capital of Ghana in 1877 after British authorities transferred the government seat from Cape Coast.9 Eighty years later, Ghana would achieve independence from colonial rule under the Ghana Independence Act 1957.10 There was ample land available to dwellers in Ghana before colonial rule. Then, a shift in the way of life came as trading intensified and gold and humans were sought as commodities. Now Ghana and its capital city, Accra, face inequalities in infrastructure and housing.

1877 Accra is established as the capital of Ghana after the British consolidate power and move the capital from Cape Coast.

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1980s Liberalization policies make it easier for companies to conduct business in Ghana, but poverty becomes more prevalent.

2001 Ghana is the home of 655 foreign headquarters

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Demographics The population of Ghana in 2019 was

30,417,858; the population of Greater Accra was 5,446,237 in 2021. Accra, the capital of Ghana, has an estimated population of 2,556,972; the population has been increasing at a steady rate of about 2% since 2000.12 There were 1,938,225 males and 2,071,829 females in 2010.13 The major ethnic groups in the capital city are the Akan, Ga-Dangme, and Ewe groups. Christians make up the largest ethnic group with 83% of the population.

Muslims follow with about 10%, then non-religious at 4.6%.

In 2020, the most populous age group in Greater Accra was 20-29 year olds with 1,136,102 persons.14 As shown in the figure below, the following most populous group was 0-9 year olds with 1,094,322 persons. The average household in Greater Accra size was 3.8 persons with 1,036,426 households in 2010. There were 1,801,279 employed persons and 162,606 unemployed persons in the region in 2010.

Context: Factors Contributing to Housing Delivery Inefficiencies

Ghana Statistical Service released the Ghana Poverty Mapping Report in 2015, which stated that the incidence of poverty was significantly low in Greater Accra.

Poverty incidence and inequality are highest in Tema.15 The report also claimed that there were 24,665 poor persons out of a total household population of 285,139 in Tema. Greater Accra as a whole had 257,401 poor persons out of a total household population of 3,888,237. The poverty rate in the region in 2020 is estimated to be 25.5%.16 Changing demographics have greatly contributed to the housing crisis in Ghana. Rural populations migrating into urbanized regions add strain on the housing stock.17 Immigration is also attributed as a key factor of Accra’s growth.

In 2014, it was estimated that there were 2.8 children per woman in the region.18 The available housing stock in Greater Accra cannot keep pace with the growing population without intervention.

Greater Accra Age Distribution, 2020

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number of domestic and foreign merchants came to the city at this time, as colonial powers focused on the exporting out natural resources and importing in British

manufactured

Aerial view of Downtown Accra

Economy Greater Accra’s current economy, as well as its economic history, is closely tied to global forces. Today, Ghana takes pride in being rated as the number one country for “doing business” in West Africa; as Ghana’s political and economic capital, Accra is the site of much of this business.19.

Yet this formal sector, with all of its ties to global investment, does not serve all citizens .

By examining history, we can see how Accra’s current economy was shaped by colonialism and global neoliberal forces. Prior to European involvement, Greater Accra was a small coastal fishing village dating back to the sixteenth century. Development was sparse, as much of Ghana’s major cities were located further inland.

Major economic development only took off after 1877, when the British consolidated power on the Gold Coast and moved capital headquarters from Cape Accra. An increased

goods.

By the 1920s the Gold Coast was the largest exporter of cocoa, with Greater Accra becoming a prime 21 exporter. When Ghana gained independence in 1957, the country’s economic focus was on industrialization, with development efforts focused on Greater Accra. The 1980s brought national liberalization policies that made it easier for companies to conduct business in Ghana.22 This led to an increased presence of foreign businesses in Greater Accra, which in 2001 was home to the headquarters of 655 foreign companies. Of these companies, the largest amount were in the mining sector, although a growing number were in industries such as producer services, management of industrial estates, and telecommunications.

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While liberalization efforts of the 1980s successfully attracted foreign investment, they had a negative impact on the economic situation of everyday residents in Greater Accra. This period was marked by wage and salary freezes that resulted in incomes not keeping up with cost of living; as such the population living below the poverty line in Accra increased from 9% to 23% between 1988 and 1992. This trend continued into the new millennium.

23 This has been coupled with increased

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Context: Factors Contributing to Housing Delivery Inefficiencies participation in the informal sector -- though it is worth noting that the informal sector always had a strong presence in Greater Accra’s economy, and that in some cases it is difficult to distinguish between formal and informal economies.24 Though surveys of informal economies are notoriously difficult to conduct with precision and accuracy, a 1990 study estimated the informal sector’s proportion of total employment in Ghana to be 45%, while a 1997 survey estimated that share to be as high as 89%.25 The division between Accra’s formal and informal economies can be seen spatially.

Throughout residential areas and along major thoroughfares, there is an abundance of microenterprises belonging to informal businesses owners.26 In contrast to the sites of informal economic activity, peri-urban gated communities and “new city” type developments host formal economies catering to the city’s upper class populations as well as expats.27 Currently in development is Appolonia City, a $250 million investment in infrastructure and real estate.28 This is being developed by Rendeavour, an urban development branch of a Russian investment bank that currently has nine new city developments throughout Africa. These gated communities present a completely privatized approach to providing residential housing,moving housing delivery methods away from a public approach that aims to benefit all residents.

Transportation Historical Context Pre-colonial routes between Ghana and Europe were across the Mediterranean Sea and through the Sahara Desert.

Arabian colonization of northern Africa

Context: Factors Contributing to Housing Delivery Inefficiencies

severed these connections, forcing Europeans to explore sea routes to the Gold Coast and other countries along the Gulf of Guinea. The 1890 Inspector of Roads began the construction of Ghana’s road network.29 Under the ordinance, chiefs and community members were obliged to construct and maintain roads.

The 1895 Labour Ordinance guaranteed a steady supply of labor as each male was obligated to help construct and maintain roads for 24 hours per year. By 1911, there were a total of 3,078 miles of untarmetted roads and 240 miles of tarrmetted. A tarmetted road is made up of a mixture of sand and gravel that has been sprayed by tar. Other colonial infrastructure developments included a deep-sea harbor project and a series of railways.30 Existing Conditions Today, the Ministry of Roads and Highways control aviation, harbor and railways, and Road Transport Services.31 The goals of the ministry were to establish Ghana as a transportation hub for West Africa, using public-private partnerships.

Citizens and visitors alike use trotros (shared minivans), buses, trains, and taxis to travel around Accra. Road transportation was one of the more dominant modes of transportation in Ghana: 60% of vehicles are used for passenger movement, with 14.5% being taxis and 25.5% being private vehicles.32 Trotros were a dominant form of public transportation in Accra.33 Trips

that would typically take 30 minutes can take a couple of hours on a trotro due to multiple stops.34 The glacial-paced commute leaves residents with few options, so they may opt to buy their own private vehicle, adding to the number of cars on the roads. It is estimated that the number of vehicles on roadways was growing by 10% annually.35

Bus service is provided by the limited liability company Metro Mass Transit.

The transit firm was established in accordance with the National Transport Plan and the Transport Sector MediumTerm Development Plan to provide transportation to all citizens.36 The MMT provides service between Tema’s Community 5 and Accra.

The primary challenges to urban and road transportation in the region are poorly regulated sprawl, congestion, road safety, quality of passenger transport, the capacity of the MMT, and encouraging sustainable investment.37 The growing population of the Greater area causes sprawl which then leads to greater congestion and longer travel times.

Analysis from WHO determined that 5,500 deaths could have been prevented

from reduced air pollution and 33,000 deaths could have been prevented from active modes of transportation including using public transportation, walking, and cycling.38 Peri-urban development follows road patterns that link rural and other areas to the central city.39 Developments of communities made up of businesses and homes are based on the approximate distance to major roads and highways. Highways are important because they act as critical infrastructure for residents to access work, essential goods and services and other activities that may not be available locally. The authors also noted that a large share of secondary and local roads are unpaved. 40 Transportation infrastructure and housing are directly linked to one another as Greater Accra faces rapid urbanization and sprawl. Residents are forced to leave their homes hours before work start times as a 40-minute free-flow commute could turn into 3 or 4 hours due to congestion.41 Residents in Accra, Greater Accra, and beyond should all be considered when planning transportation infrastructure for a more accessible and less congested economic region.

Right: Trotro’s at Capacity.

Left: Traffic map of roadways in Greater Accra.

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Land Use in Accra Introduction: Planning as Playing a Zero-Sum Game Scholarship surrounding land use in Accra and the sub-saharan region in general tends to examine land use through one of three angles: accelerated peri-urban transformation, concentration of the urban poor in informal housing settlements, or the abundance of foreign investment into central business districts and “new cities”. Examining these three patterns simultaneously, however, illuminates the deeply entwined relations between land use, housing, labor, and foreign investment across the sub-saharan urban fabric, as well as the shifting hierarchies of rural, urban, peri-urban, regional, national, and global players in this landscape. Though administrative hierarchies and relations governing land use are shifting and spatially fragmented, the current urban planning regime has become a zero-sum game, whereby the building of new cities have accelerated land speculation in periurban areas and have caused a serious housing crisis for the urban poor.42 The specific mechanisms of this process are explained within this section on land use.

Though Accra is not one of the world’s megacities, its rate of its economic, spatial, and population expansion is among the highest in the world, along with many other sub-saharan cities.43 A Story of Rapid Change Prevailing discourse surrounding land use in sub-saharan African cities often focuses on the accelerated peri-urban transformation of land. The story of land use in urbanizing areas of this region is often told as a story of rapid change. The

Context: Factors Contributing to Housing Delivery Inefficiencies

figure on the following page illustrates how per peri-urban transformation is also a major component of Accra’s geography.

A 2017 study found that between 2008 and 2017, urban expansion or builtenvironment development in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area accelerated at a rate of 5.9 % per year. In total, over a nineyear span, Accra’s built-up area grew from 411.45 km2 in 2008 to 689.07 km2 in 2017and further analysis that considers the population and geography of this growth indicates that the growth is dominated by low-density development in the periurban zone, and is spatially uneven.44 This spatial pattern would appear to be in concurrence with state and internationally-funded planning efforts, such as the Accra Expansion City Project implemented in 2015, which aimed to expand Accra’s urban extent to the region of Ningo-Prampram. The goal of the project is to “capitalise on land availability, the prospect of a new international airport and the West-African transnational highway to create a modern city district that is ‘economically vibrant and internationally and locally connected’.”45 Another example of a plan that seeks to capitalize on peri-urban transformation trends is the Greater Accra Regional Spatial Development Framework, which “envisions such an urban development trajectory based on a polycentric compact city-region development model where different development nodes are established and agglomerated by means of efficient public transport systems and corridor development.” Land use planning strategies proposed by both regional and international planners are thus dominated by a rhetoric of expansion, capital improvement, and attracting investment

Although it may seem that this spatial development is being facilitated or at least calculated by planning bodies, uncertainty remains regarding the specific uses, density, predicted future growth, and relational nature of this land transformation. There is an ongoing administrative “tug-of-war” among national, state, and local planning agencies that creates this uncertainty as well as the shifting hierarchies of land ownership.

Land use distribution in Greater Accra Metropolitan Area,, 2008 to 2017

Land Ownership and Tenure Structures and Stewardship Often Left Out of the Calculations in Land Use Planning In Accra, land ownership is an often overlooked yet major structuring element for land use planning implementation.

Less than 13% of land in Accra is owned by the state, while over 80% is “customary land,” or land that is owned by families and chiefs.46 This means that there are largely unpredictable (from a planning perspective) shifting hierarchies of decision-making when it comes to land use in Ghana.

The factors that determine legitimacy and solidify land ownership may be confusing to planners or international agents unfamiliar with land ownership and tenure structures in Ghana. For example, securing land may hinge upon being able to hire “land guards’’ or armed security personnel that may protect or seize property. The matter of planning and developing land in the peri-urban region is by no means predictable or peaceful.

In 2014, it was estimated that over 40% of cases in the Ghananian High Court were land use disputes, not counting the vast majority of land-use disputes that are settled outside the court system through alternative structures, such as family tribunals, chiefs’ courts and local or regional agencies.47 It is also important to note that the disputes almost always arise when development appears to be underway- when construction crews arrive and begin digging for the foundations of a structure, or when agricultural lands are being cleared for sand winning or development. Land conflicts on residential land, where people already live, are rare. This indicates that it is new pressures on the land market, not the customary land ownership system, that is driving conflict.

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Context: Factors Contributing to Housing Delivery Inefficiencies The concept of the “urban myth” comes into play here when examining the policy instruments that have been used to try to manage sprawl in Accra’s periurban region.48 There is an inherent assumption in transnational and global policy-making circles that people prefer to live in cities over rural or peri-urban communities, if given the opportunity. Yet anecdotal evidence shows that, if given the opportunity, residents of Accra prefer to move out to the peri-urban zone- not all residents of the peri-urban zone are impoverished, and not all wish to leave.

On the contrary, those who live there wish to stay, and are facing increased land pressures from those who are moving there from the city of Accra.

New Cities Through recent technological advancement in satellite and aerial imagery have led to increasingly detailed studies on land use change for Accra, additional spatial and economic analysis is needed to understand how Ghanaian planners reconcile the fact that there is

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an extreme affordable housing shortage in the middle of a real estate boom in Accra’s peri-urban zone.49 One potential way to frame the discourse moving forward is to recognize the inherent link between peri-urban expansion, “new cities,” and dire housing need. Some scholars have connected this housing crisis to peri-urban expansion and new development through an analysis of growing pressures on the land market, blaming increasing real estate speculation and luxury housing: “Accra’s fragmentation is fueled by the development of exclusive villas and estates at the inner city and periurban areas, to meet the needs and preferences of upper and middleincome classes. In effect, globalization is increasing pressure on land and housing, creating scarcity and high prices. Within the context of weak land market and development, land speculation in periurban areas tends to be widespread, leading to increasing urban development in GAMA without appropriate services and infrastructure.”50

HOW CAN PLANNERS ADDRESS THE GAP BETWEEN PRESCRIPTIVE PLANNING DOCUMENTS AND THE REALITY OF URBAN EXPANSION PATTERNS ON THE GROUND?

Peaceful protest by residents against the occupation of land guards at Patang-Akoboki juncture .

Master plan for Appolonia City , a “new city” in Ghana planned by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

This paradoxical combination of rapid urban development and lack of comprehensive infrastructure causes land conflict, dispossession, and precarious housing and economic conditions in Accra.

As some scholars have noted, there is a deep relationship between land conflict and dispossession in the peri-urban zone and “new cities”-type of development in Accra’s urban core, specifically within the neighborhood of La near the central business district: “This mechanism of dispossession has had a particularly devastating effect on the neighbourhood of La, an indigenous Ga community located to the east of the central business district, with some estimating that the community has lost 80 per cent of its land to expropriation (James, Trustee, East Dadekotopon Development Trust). This has had serious negative socio-economic impacts on

many of the town’s residents. First, the residents of La have lost most of their living space. As a result, the town of La occupies less than three square miles and is characterised by extremely cramped and overcrowded living conditions.

Second, this has contributed to high levels of poverty and unemployment in the neighbourhood, as community members have been dispossessed of their ability engage in agricultural livelihood activities.

When asked what the effect on the La people of losing their land was, a local campaigner against land privatisation replied that ‘they became poor forever’.”51 As Accra’s spatial, economic, and social fabric becomes more fragmented due to new development projects, the region’s infrastructure also faces additional challenges to serve an shifting, sprawling, disconnected residential pattern- as explored in the next section.

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Current Housing Condition in Greater Accra: An Examination of the Problem

CURRENT HOUSING CONDITIONS IN GREATER ACCRA: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROBLEM The Greater Accra region currently experiences housing and infrastructural deficits, and access to affordable housing, land, and financing leaves many residents in sub-standard living situations.

The Upper West region has the lowest proportion of the housing stock (2.4%).

Compared with the 2000 Census data, there are marked differences in the percentage change in housing stock across regions. The increase is highest in Ashanti (74.6%) and lowest in Upper East (29.0%).55 Most studies have focused on mass housing projects, disregarding self-build houses which apparently represent the largest share (90%) of housing provision in many developing countries such as Ghana.56 Demand and Supply There is a wide deficit gap between supply and demand for housing in Ghana with the housing deficit currently at 2 million.57 Over the years, housing continue to be unaffordable to a significant number of urban low income households.

Barriers to home ownership in the Greater Accra Region by low income earners include expensive and insecure urban lands together with high cost of construction. Therefore, many rent houses supplied by the private landlords.

Compiled from the Ghana 2010 Population and Census Housing Report.

Housing Stock and Deficit Housing is one of the fundamental needs of one’s life as it is vital to the socioeconomic development of every country.

However, in the course of the past five decades, Ghana has not encountered any huge development in the housing sector.52 The 2010 population and housing Census indicate that the total stock of houses in the country is 3,392,745 with a deficit of over 2 million units.53 Most low and middle income earners resort to collective self help or self-build housing to meet their shelter needs based on their

income. Other estimates on the housing deficit even present a much grimmer picture.Mahama and Adarkwah (2006) estimate from 1960 to 2002 showed that with a population of about 20 million in 2000, a total of 3.7 million housing units were required as against the actual recorded stock of about 2.2 million leaving a deficit of over 1.5 million.54 The regional distribution shows that Ashanti (16.9%) has the highest proportion of houses, followed by Greater Accra (14.0%) and Eastern (12.7%) regions.

As a result, housing in Greater Accra is said to be overcrowded with an average household size of 5.1.59. Due to the unsustainable nature of housing policies by various governments over the decades, many individuals are forced to build their own houses.

According to Takahashi (2009), “enablement policy” was adopted to help engage the private sector in bolstering the housing needs of low-income households.

60 GREDA is the only organized private sector group that is contributing new units to the housing stock of Ghana.

Housing needs of low-income groups in urban areas have been pushed aside because of the stiff competition generated by market forces. The cost of housing is determined by this competition, making a minimal standard of formal sector housing unaffordable to low-income earners.

Rapid urban growth over the years has made the provision of houses and other services for residents in Accra, especially the low-income, a key issue for urban planners and governments.

Supply-demand imbalances have already resulted in severe housing shortages, urban poverty, homelessness and the development of slums/shanty towns/ informal settlements on the periphery of the city.58

Housing complex in Accra

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Current Housing Condition in Greater Accra: An Examination of the Problem

Current Housing Condition in Greater Accra: An Examination of the Problem Power Power and electricity are relatively wellserviced in Accra, but the cost of service connections for electricity and gas is borne by consumers. Most management of the energy sector provided by MDAs.67.

Inf rastructural Deficits Closely tied to the quality of housing in Greater Accra is the infrastructure that serves residents. The region showcases stark divides in the quality of infrastructure between wealthy formal communities and low-income informal communities.

The latter, as well as newly developed areas, experience lagging or nonexistent services.61

Compiled from the Ghana 2010 Population and Census Housing Report.

Sewage, Sanitation, and Refuse Collection

Sewage treatment works in Accra were out of order for a decade, with untreated sludge and sewage going into the sea from 2000 to 2012. While 2012 brought the inauguration of a new treatment facility, and 2021 brought the expansion of said facilities, sewage treatment remains a large issue in many informal areas of Accra. 62 About 40% of the urban population in Ghana rely on public latrines located outside of their homes. This dependency was exacerbated by the outlawing of the bucket conservancy system, through which residents would dispose of refuse by dumping buckets into public spaces.

Although sewerage systems in the region are comparatively better than the rest of the country, as of 2000, 74% of households did not have a toilet connected to a sewer. Restroom facilities located outside of sewer service areas are connected to septic systems. Other households rely on cesspits emptied by suction services. 63 Refuse disposal is closely tied to the disposal of human waste in many parts of Accra. While the amount of waste collection within the City is increasing, in many informal areas refuse overflows into ditches, sewage areas, and other spaces

Water As of 2008, only 25% of Accra residents received 24-hour access to potable water, and only 35% of residents had access twodays a week or more.64 Weija Waterworks, the main water treatment service, is polluted by agricultural activities and inefficient waste disposal. Supply shortages in water are felt most acutely by the urban poor, who employ coping strategies such as utilizing water from the sea, wells, or even polluted inland water bodies, for various household tasks. Many also rely on private vendors or tanker drivers, who may exhibit unscrupulous behavior that leads to health hazards.

Pilot projects to explore bulk storage are beginning to be explored.65 On the other side of the coin, flooding is also a persistent threat in Greater Accra.66 Drainage facilities are relatively restrictive, and due to the flat, low-lying topography, as well as haphazard building locations, existing drainage systems have poor flow. Further, as a coastal community with portions of the region lying below sea level, rising sea levels are likely to bring on more flooding and as well as the destruction of infrastructure, homes, and natural ecosystem.

Land use and peri-urban transformation are an important factors in energy transition and energy use in Ghana and in Accra specifically. According to a 2017 study, biomass constituted 78% of energy from electricity. 68 and fuel for cooking, while only 16% of energy consumption for cooking came One potential reason for this low electricity consumption may be high energy tariffs in Accra.

Furthermore, as peri-urban areas in Accra undergo land use transformation into residential areas, lands used for growing and gathering firewood are cleared, which disrupts fuel access and energy security, and increases importation of charcoal and woodfuel from other areas of Ghana. Increasing residential housing development in the peri-urban region means that infrastructure costs for housing outside the urban core are 10-30% of housing construction costs, making affordable housing much more difficult for developers to produce.69 Sand As Accra continues to build infrastructure and housing it is important to note the geology and mineral extraction implicated in construction. 90% of urban housing in Ghana is composed of sandcrete blocks, a material composed of sand, cement, and water.70. The extraction of sand for construction most often occurs in the peri-urban zone, in a process known as “sand-winning,” which may or may not occur legally, peacefully, or at the expense of the local community or land owners. The construction or development of housing in Accra, therefore, hinges on a precarious process in the peri-urban zone.71

Housing Delivery Methods A. Self-Build Housing Self-build housing is defined as a gradual piece-meal acquisition of housing inputs such as plots of land, fine and coarse aggregates, other building materials, and construction requirements commensurate with the owner’s finances, and executed through the use of professional builders and artisans with little or no labor input by the owner or family.71 Over the years, the government of Ghana has not been able to meet the housing needs of its citizens which has led to the proliferation of the self-help housing paradigm in its literal sense. Most Ghanaians have employed laissez-faire self-help housing otherwise described as self-build housing, supplying 90% of the housing stock in the country while contributing a whopping US$300million per annum.(72)(73) .

Self-build housing at East Legon, Accra (left), and Oyibi, Accra (right)

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Current Housing Condition in Greater Accra: An Examination of the Problem

Current Housing Condition in Greater Accra: An Examination of the Problem

Asokore Mampong Affordable Housing, Kumasi

B. Quasi-Government Organization Housing

Affordable Housing Project at Saglemi, Accra

Self-build housing is practiced not only by low income households but also by both middle and high income households.74 Unlike ideologies of self-help housing that include some level of government intervention, self-built is described as an economic use of labor, power, or effort, in the form of the individual or by a group to build a certain project depending on either external or internal help or both, through technical ways without using institutional partnership.75 The self-build housing process in Accra is mainly characterized by self-builders who initiates the project, procures and registers the land, obtains designs and building materials, and secures development and building permit. The self-builder also arranges for labor with or without supervision. Only on a few occasions do self-builders engage subcontractors on their project site, otherwise the labor engaged is limited to skilled and unskilled labor sourced from the informal sector. Even though this model of housing provision is slow, it continues to be the most popular contributor to housing in Ghana.76 Self-build housing is faced with challenges that include institutional, economic, social, constructional, and architectural factors among others. .

Government organizations like the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and State Housing Company (SHC) as well as the private sector-led Ghana Real Estates Development Association (GREDA), have contributed considerably to the housing stock of the nation. (77)(78)(79).

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), for instance, contributed complete flats and apartments targeting low/moderate income workers but unfortunately middle to upper income groups benefited from the project following the diversification of the housing units in 1999 due to operational and managerial challenges.(80)(81) The provision of affordable houses by SSNIT using contributions from workers was designed using the social housing paradigm based on occupancy rental arrangement suitable for workers.

Unfortunately this scheme failed to promote ownership for the lower classes.

Coupled with the general housing shortage, it served only the upper class of the working population who purchased over 92% of flats sold in 1999. The revamped State Housing Company adopted a new approach to meeting the housing needs of Ghanaians. The scheme introduced counterpart funding from SHC of a 20-25% down payment of the cost of the house by would-be owners, with the rest of the cost spread across scheduled time.82

UIC COLLEGE OF URBAN PLANNING AND POLICY, 2021

Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) is known for putting up highquality housing, mostly these houses are very expensive, but mostly in smaller quantities, a total of 2,100 between 2000 and 2007(83). Mostly the cost of these houses are quoted in dollars which is mostly to the disadvantage of the middle and low income groups. Due to the regular increase in the interest rate, it has become very difficult for people to build houses which have access to the lower end of the market.84 C. Cooperative Housing This is an alternative housing approach that utilizes the principles and processes of cooperatives. It refers to the system that uses co-operative practices and methods in supplying housing services to its members.85 Housing in Accra and Ghana at large is very expensive as a result of challenges one may go through in terms of land acquisition, cost of building materials, and infrastructure cost for roads, electricity and drainage.

Market-rate units are beyond the reach of low and middle-income groups. One strategic way to bridge the deficit gap is through cooperative housing.

Cooperatives can play a leading role built upon a long legacy of promoting sustainable development and reduction of poverty by providing sustainable livelihoods, promoting partnerships, and building capacity. However, to achieve this, cooperatives need an enabling environment, appropriate legislation, and government policies, which acknowledge the unique roles cooperatives (either member-owned, member-controlled or self-help) play in the housing delivery process.86

HOUSING FINANCE Ghana’s 2009 draft housing policy identified that, main difficulties associated with urban housing provision were low capital base, absence of longterm borrowing options, high commercial lending rates, and low household incomes.87 The collapse of the Bank for Housing and Construction in 2000 also smothered housing construction and mortgage market for both contractors and prospective homeowners.

The housing financing system of the country targets a limited segment of the population: basically the high- income earners in the urban formal sector. Lowincome self-builders do not have access to mortgage finance or housing loans.88 Nevertheless, self-financing option remains the key viable option for many households desiring to own their homes.

Even though the self-financing has the advantage of allowing households to build at their own pace. It also leads to prolonged completion timelines. 89 The priorities of banking and financial institutions in the country do not assist low- income earners in funding housing projects because most self-builders who do not own landed property to be used as collateral to acquire loans. In recent years, commercial banks, financial institutions, and mortgage agencies such as HFC offer limited housing mortgages targeting only high income households. Even with the existence of partial mortgages, only 15% of Ghanaians can access this source.

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Current Housing Condition in Greater Accra: An Examination of the Problem

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY Affordable housing comprises not only the fixed structure known as a house but the complete range of environmental factors that makes living easy and comfortable. Some of these factors include transportation access, proper ventilation, good sanitation and availability of potable water. Housing affordability boosts the capacity of households to spend on other fundamental needs of life such as food and clothing. It also requires a reasonable standard of living, the mortgagor’s ability to efficiently meet mortgage requirements, and household’s access to the required standard of housing without preventing them access to other fundamental necessities of life. Housing affordability therefore includes not only the cost of housing but also the standard of housing, environmental factors, the price of other essential goods and services, and the cost of mortgages. The provision of housing in Accra, has been denoted by high and continuing increases cost for both residential and commercial building. 91 Government entitities contribute very little to the housing supply due to the challenges associated with housing delivery. The private informal sector provides about 90% of the housing in Accra.92 Given the trials developers go through in terms of land acquisition, cost of building materials and also providing infrastructure like roads, electricity and drainage, units put on the market are unaffordable to low-income and middleincome groups.

In Accra, governments provide little or no housing supply. The private sector undersupplies affordable housing due to its low profitability. Per-unit price

Current Housing Condition in Greater Accra: An Examination of the Problem

currently ranges between US $18000 to US$100,000). More so, mortgage facilities by some banks geared towards helping Ghanaians access inexpensive housing comes with high interest rates and outrageous conditions.93 Few banks in Accra offer mortgage loans and often their main clients are high-net-worthpatrons.94 Only 8% of residents in Accra can afford to buy a property withouta mortgage and yet less than fifteen percent 15% of the population can access mortgages.95 The dominant housing finance institutions in Accra presently are the Home Finance Company (HFC) and Ghana Home loans.

Few banks in Accra offer mortgage loans and often their main clinets are high-networth patrons.94 Only 8% of residents in Acrra can afford to buy a property without a mortgage and yet less than 15% of the populatrion cn access mortgages. The dominant housing finance institutions in Accra presently are the Home Finance Company (HFC) adn Ghana Home Loan.

Land Acquisition and Cost The main challenge associated with the supply of housing in Accra is land acquisition and cost. An affordable housing developer has to look for land from chiefs and express interest, undergo long processes, and build affordable houses on a large scale which meet the budget of the ordinary salary worker.96 For example, one would think that government would have easy access to lands through the Lands Commission because according to Chapter 21 of the 1992 Constitution, the state currently owns about 20% of all land in the country and its activities are handled by the Lands Commission as the sole agency for administering public land, including expropriation and assignment on behalf

of the state97. But even with government, there are still challenges with land acquisition. Because of discrepancies and inefficiencies in land administration in Ghana, there can be multiple sales of the same piece of land to different people98.

But even with government, there are still challenges with land acquisition. Because of discrepancies and inefficiencies in land administration in Ghana, there can be multiple sales of the same piece of land to different people.98 This happens particularly with the government sector because the government delays after buying land leaving it for some time before developing.

This delay is due to the fact that the government is not just one person or a single entity. Stakeholders must come together in the planning, designing and technical aspects of affordable housing provision for the masses.

Chiefs hate delays, so they tend to sell land to non-government buyers. Land cost and land availability is further complicated by officials of the Ministry. Since Ghana has an indeterminate stool system, they may sell it to too many people because the offers are better than government could ever pay, and Accra does not have an organized land system as other regions.

For instance, in the Ashanti region one cannot buy land on one’s own, it is leased so it is not as expensive as buying, as opposed to Accra where the land is sold outright.99

Building and Labor Cost At the implementation stage, cost of building materials is another major issue. Over-reliance on foreign materials is a contributing factor. Most cases, local materials are barely used, making it very expensive. Local building materials, such as burnt clay bricks, pozzolana cement, and compressed earth could reduce 00) housing cost by 20%. The same applies to self-builders.100 Labor costs are increasing with Accra’s economic growth. Data gathered from the field shows that cost of building materials are increasing too; a bag of cement in 2005 was sold at 6gh, and 2021 at 50gh.101 Infrastructure Cost of the major challenges the housing sector faces is the provision of infrastructure.

Development of facilities like electricity, roads and a good drainage systems often faces government delays. Private estate developers tend to provide such facilities after the building has been put up to make the houses habitable for their customers without government delay.

The private estate developer’s aim is to maximize profit; therefore, the cost of infrastructure is merged with the actual cost of the housing unit, which tends to make its price expensive.102 Due to this, the government has adopted a different strategy for the provision of affordable housing; land banks from chiefs allow investors to profit off of affordable housing development.

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Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op

COOPERATIVE HOUSING AS A SOLUTION: A CASE STUDY OF THE AMUI DZOR CO-OP

Amui Dzor is an impressive feat of collaboration to house 36 families at low cost.

But its complexity raised doubts about replicability without national overhaul.

Ghana’s 1968 Cooperative Society Act defines cooperatives as:

“[A] LEGALLY INCORPORATED GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS, GENERALLYOF LIMITED MEANS TO MEET THEIR COMMON ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL NEEDS AND ASPIRATIONS THROUGH A JOINTLY OWNED AND DEMOCRATICALLY CONTROLLED ENTERPRISE, ORGANISED AND OPERATED ON CO-OPERATIVE PRINCIPLES.” 103).

Interiors of the Amui Dzor Housing Cooperative Informal housing in the Ashaiman neighborhood of Greater Accra.

History of Housing Co-ops in Ghana The first cooperatives in Ghana formed around the cocoa industry in 192829.104 Housing cooperatives followed in 1956,105,the same year Ghana’s Roof Loan Scheme for government loan financing of home improvements began.106 In 1969 - one year after the Cooperative Societies Act was passed - urban cooperative housing took off, starting with a project in Tema was officially registered as a cooperative in 1972.107 Given that Ashaiman - the site of Amui Dzor - was once part of Tema, the location of the Amui Dzor housing project makes sense in historical context. The two Ghanaian state bodies established to address

housing were the State Housing Corporation (SHC) and Tema Development Corporation (TDC).108 The SHC dealt with housing across the country while TDC worked in Tema only, indicating that this specific region had a deep history of housing cooperatives before Amui Dzor began.

In 2015, Ghanaian policymakers indicated renewed interest in self-help housing with the launch of the new National Housing Policy to build legal structures around these efforts.109 Ultimately, however, cooperative housing makes up a small proportion of overall housing in Ghana, at just 47,851 units out of 3.4 million nationwide.110 It seems to be an underutilized housing delivery method, given its low average cost of $10,000 per unit. 111

Housing Context in Ghana and Ashaiman 71% of the greater Accra population - of which Tema and Ashaiman are a part - is employed informally, essentially locking almost three-fourths of the population out of housing finance.112 Ashaiman, formerly part of Tema, is almost entirely substandard housing113 and has a high unemployment rate.114 Tema’s deindustrialization led to high rates of unemployment in Ashaiman115, leading many residents to live in improvised wooden houses without plumbing or water, creating drainage and fire risks.116 Ashaiman is made up mostly of migrants from other parts of Ghana.117

Due to residents’ inability to pay for garbage collection, many Ashaiman residents burn their garbage or leave it in the outskirts of the neighborhood; malaria and cholera are both significant public health challenges.118 At the same time, the construction of a flyover has cut travel time from Ashaiman to central Accra, creating increased land values and speculation, as demonstrated by the Tema Traditional Council’s tendency to lease parcels to the wealthy.119 Local residents are also frustrated with local and traditional governments’ refusal to release land to residents, leading to a December 2012 threat to boycott local elections.120

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Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op

Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op

History of the Amui Dzor Co-op The Ghana Federation of the Urban Poor (GHAFUP) began the Amui Dzor development process in 2004121, and it was completed in 2009.122 Local community members carried building materials, supplied local knowledge, and developed project maintenance skills in the process.

The land on which Amui Dzor stands used to house 10 families, and GHAFUP created a relocation plan for people displaced by the development of the project.123

Cooperative member engagement is high, with members saving into the communal fund daily and meeting weekly for group discussions.124 Workshops on capacity building, advocacy, health screening, and communal cleaning have helped keep members actively engaged.125 Residents have gained access to kitchens, toilets, and showers, and will own their units after 10 years.126

BEFORE AND AFTER: THE AMUI DZOR HOUSING PROJECT

Key Facts: Amui Dzor Housing Projecta

36 Families Housed

31 Dwelling Units

$610

$46

5

13

Initial Deposit

Monthly rent/ unit

Private Toilets

Shared Toilets

15 Commercial Units

10

90’x80’

Years Repayment

Project Land Area

12% Commercial Loan Interest Rate

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12 Public Toilets (Pay per Use)

5%

Urban Poor Fund International Loan Interest Rate

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Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op

MAJOR PLAYERS -

Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op

THE WHO MADE AMUI DZOR COOP

AMUI DZOR HAPPEN?b

SLUM DWELLERS INTERNATIONAL (SDI) What it is: A network of savings groups in 33 countries.

URBAN POOR FUND INTERNATIONAL (UPFI)

Contributed $50,000 to Amui Dzoa

Contributed funds

What it is: A fund established by SDI to provide microfinancing for savings groups with cost recovery.

Extended a GHC1500 5% loan to each family

Organized exchange with traditional and city authorities

GHANA FEDERATION OF THE URBAN POOR (GHAFUP) What it is: A national affiliate of SDI with 18,000 members.

Contributed funds

THE AMUI DZOR CO-OP

Can use units as collateral Provided technical assistance Partnered for design, constructuion, material sourcing and landscaping

Granted $20,000 from the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing

International Funders (UK Lottery Fund, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Gates Foundation) Government (Tema Development Corporation, Accra Municipal Assembly, Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing) UN Habitat Slum Upgrading Fund Negotiated 12% interest rate using credit enhancement through guarantees

Banks (AMAL, Ghana Commercial, HFC) Tekton Consultants

Tema/Ashaiman Metropolitan Slum Upgrading Facility (TAMSUF

While the Amui Dzor Co-op is largely considered a success, it is important to note that it was not created in a vacuum. Collaboration between state governments, banks, international funders, and other institutions made visions of the Amui Dzor Co-op a reality, as demonstrated by the chart above.

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Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op

Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op

WEAKNESSES

Analysis of Amui Dzor Development To better understand the Amui Dzor Co-op and the lessons that can be learned from it, an assessment of the development’s strengths and weakness was conducted.

STRENGTHS Award The Amui Dzor Housing Cooperative won the “Best Social Innovative Housing Project” award from a 2010 panel of housing experts, and Tekton Consultants won “Best Designed Architectural Concept for a Mixed Use Development in Social Housing for the Urban Poor.” 127 Spillover Benefits The updated amenities of the Amui Dzor housing project created spillover benefits for the surrounding Ashaiman neighborhood. Residents contracted with the municipal waste department to drain their septic tanks every five months and remove their trash daily, in addition to a common dumping site to replace practices of burning trash.133 The cooperative allows Ashaiman residents to use their public toilets for 20 pesewas, or three cents, which allows for both loan servicing and toilet maintenance.134 This has left the facility better-managed than many Ghanaian public sanitation units.135 Amui Dzor also has a mechanized water system136, and its electrification has extended to Ashaiman, which will allow residents to renovate their homes.137

Revenue Sourcing The cooperative employs resourceful strategies to source revenue. Women’s business empowerment initiatives allow for higher income potential and the cooperative makes income towards paying back their loans by selling water.

128 Dobson (2012) calls the income from public-use toilets “impressive.” The commercial rent on the ground floor not only allowed the cooperative to halve perroom development cost from $10,000 to $5,000129, but also has increased Ashaiman’s commercial activity.130 Repayments are now returning to GHAFUP to fund other projects in Ghana 131 , and residents are on-track to own their units after 10 years.132 International Engagement Slum Dwellers International’s (SDI’s) exchange visit to an Indian housing cooperative convinced traditional authorities to grant the land for Amui Dzor below market value.138 Funding Amui Dzor residents contribute to a revolving fund intended to finance another housing development 10 years after its establishment, and Ashaiman community members have also joined this savings group.139

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Affordability One barrier to replication is cost improvised housing is free, so rather thanliving in improved housing they must pay for, like Amui Dzor, many residents want “50x50” land demarcation to develop their own homes, which the Accra Municipal Council is considering.

140 In addition, the average Ashaiman household could only afford housing costs of $15/month, which is one-third of the average monthly cost of an Amui Dzor unit. 141 The Kojokrom Market in Sekondi-Takoradi offers a more sustainable financial model: developers sold 60 market stalls to women who then formed a cooperative, which AMAL Bank funded. The women more than doubled their incomes and are now considering improving their housing.

(142) Income before housing might be a solution to Amui Dzor’s affordability problem.

Scalability Ghana’s Central Government and the Ashaiman Municipal Authority (AMA) are documenting the process of developing Amui Dzor to encourage others to replicate it.148 However, despite additional statements from the AMA and Traditional Council expressing interest in scaling up, neither replication nor expansion are happening.149 The combination of extremely complex financing and preferential access to land raises questions about whether Amui Dzor can be replicated.150 In addition, given the prevalence of informal employment in Ghanaian cities, loan defaults are likely, which may leave some lower-income households vulnerable to repossession and other penalties for default.151

Land Issues Land is arguably the biggest issue for developing housing in Ghana, given that it exists as a mix of communal, state, and individual ownership.143 The land on which Amui Dzor stands, for example, is still owned by the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) and the Traditional Council, both of which are hesitant to release control.144 Tensions are high with the TDC in Ashaiman, given that the TDC threatened to destroy residents’ unauthorized homes if they did not vacate in 2005.145 Tenants on chiefs’ leased land have “usufruct” rights: they are free to use the land if they do not damage it.146 People trying to develop housing, due to complex land ownership, need to make “multiple visits to multiple institutions” to figure out property transfer taxes, land valuation, and whether there are rival claims to the land.147 Complex Financing Given the complex web of financing among UN Habitat SUF, commercial banks, TAMSUF, governments, international funders, and SDI - it is unlikely that other groups would be able to easily replicate the Amui Dzor development process.

Toilets While the cooperative’s toilets have been helpful for sanitation in Ashaiman, the facility is not large enough to accommodate demand in the mornings.

Sometimes wait times are so long that people either soil themselves or are forced to go outside.152 In addition, the open toilets attract mosquitos and, with them, malaria. .

.

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Cooperative Housing as a Solution: A Case Study of the Amui Dzor Co-op

CONCLUSION

Starting from a general overview of Ghana’s history and economy, this report presents an analysis of the infrastructure, land use, and housing patterns of Accra that explain the specific challenges and potential solutions that emerge through the case study of the Amui Dzor cooperative housing project. This analysis aims to explore how Accra’s history, fastgrowing economy, infrastructure of sprawl, spatial fragmentation, unique land-ownership tradition, high-pressure land market with a high occurrence of land conflict, and highly unequal housing crisis have characterized Accra. For Accra and other Sub-Saharan cities like Accra (and across the world), a sense of urgency animates the policy recommendations being undertaken to address the housing crisis, yet a gap in critical scholarship on the global drivers of this problem persists.

Community garden at the Amui Dzor Housing Cooperative

Broader Implications For projects like Amui Dzor to scale to the level of Accra’s - and Ghana’s - housing crisis, there must be a centralized place for those hoping to develop self-help housing to go for technical assistance and funding. Scholars argue that the kindness that land owners showed in giving it to the cooperative at belowmarket price - especially in a context of land speculation - does not constitute policy, and suggest that “the state will need to take the leading role in providing significant subsidies for self-help housing projects supplying subsidized urban land on a large scale.153 Others recommend educating banks and government on cooperatives to facilitate connections.154

There are signs of hope, however.

The AMA has formed a committee to create a land demarcation plan155 and the launch of a new National Housing Policy in 2015 has led to a vacant land tax to prevent speculation.156 Given that President Mahama predicted that 63% of Ghanaians would live in urban areas by 2050 establishing a one-stop-shop for self-help housing technical assistance seems urgent.157

With the right amount of buy-in and involvement from many actors at different scales and different roles, cooperative housing presents not only a solution to the affordable housing crisis, but also a mode of operation that may repair the highly fragmented economy, spatial character, infrastructure, and social fabric of today’s Accra.

In a rapidly changing city, planners in Accra and across the world may want to consider how cooperative housing may be the most effective way to deliver sustainable yet adaptive solutions to emerging urban problems.

The process of building cooperative housing, in the case of Amui Dzor, leverages an effective blend of tools, actors, and strategies given the particular pressures and shifting power dynamics of Accra’s land market and housing deficit. Simplifying the building process and minimizing potential land conflict for interested stakeholders by providing technical assistance, reducing land market pressure, providing subsidized land, and spreading general education and awareness about cooperatives would be the logical next steps for exploratory scholarship and policy. The case of Amui Dzor reveals several unique challenges, as well as globally relevant insights into the gap between housing need and housing delivery, between technocratic planning paradigms and the reality of urban expansion patterns on the ground, and between new developments and the basic infrastructure needed to support thriving communities.

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TEXT ENDNOTES 1.

2.

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25.

Hymer, S. H. (1970). Economic forms in pre-colonial Ghana. The Journal of Economic History, 30(1), 33-50. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2116722 Ibid.

Boateng, P. K. (2017). Land access, agricultural land use changes and narratives about Land degradation in the Savannahs of Northeast Ghana during the pre-colonial and colonial periods.

Social Sciences, 6(1), 35. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6010035 Ijoma, J. O. (1982). Portuguese activities in West Africa before 1600 the consequences. Transafrican Journal of History, 11, 136-146.Retrieved from https://proxy.cc.uic.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest. com/scholarly-journals/portuguese-activities-west-af rica-before-1600/docview/1297885489/se2?accountid=14552 Hymer, S. H. (1970). Economic forms in pre-colonial Ghana. The Journal of Economic History, 30(1), 33-50. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2116722 Addo-Fening, R. (2013). Ghana under colonial rule: An outline of the early period and the interwar years. Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, (15), 39-70. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/ stable/43855011 Ibid.

Ibid.

Spio, A. E. (2011). The city branding of Accra. In City Branding (pp. 99-105). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230294790_12 Accra Metropolitan Assembly. (n.d.) The history of the Assembly. Accra Metropolitan Assembly.

Retrieved from https://ama.gov.gh/thehistory.php World Bank. (n.d.) The World Bank in Ghana. The World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ ghana/overview#1 World Population Review (n.d.) Accra Population 2021. Retrieved from https://worldpopulationreview. com/world-cities/accra-population Knoema. (n.d.) World Data Atlas, Ghana, Accra. Retrieved from https://knoema.com/atlas/Ghana/ Greater-Accra Brinkoff, T. (n.d.) City Population, Greater Accra. Retrieved from https://www.citypopulation.de/en/ ghana/admin/03__greater_accra/ Ghana Statistical Service. (2015). Ghana Poverty Mapping Report. Retrieved from https://www2. statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/publications/POVERTY%20MAP%20FOR%20GHANA-05102015.pdf World Bank. (n.d.) The World Bank in Ghana. The World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ ghana/overview#1 Afrane, S., & Asamoah, P. K. B. (2016). Housing situation in Kumasi. Retrieved from http://ir.csuc.edu. gh:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/493/20.%20Housing%20Situations%20In%20Kumasi. pdf?sequence=1 Knoema. (n.d.) World Data Atlas, Ghana, Accra. Retrieved from https://knoema.com/atlas/Ghana/ Greater-Accra Grant, R. (2001). Liberalization policies and foreign companies in Accra, Ghana. Environment and planning A, 33(6), 997-1014.

Overå, R. (2007). When men do women’s work: structural adjustment, unemployment and changing gender relations in the informal economy of Accra, Ghana. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 45(4), 539-563.

Grant, R. (2001). Liberalization policies and foreign companies in Accra, Ghana. Environment and planning A, 33(6), 997-1014.

Grant, R., & Yankson, P. (2003). City profile Accra. Elsevier Science Ltd, 20, 65-74.

Ibid.

Overå, R. (2007). When men do women’s work: structural adjustment, unemployment and changing gender relations in the informal economy of Accra, Ghana. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 45(4), 539-563.

Ibid.

26. Grant, R., & Yankson, P. (2003). City profile Accra. Elsevier Science Ltd, 20, 65-74.

27. Ibid.

28. Appolonia City. (2020, November 20). A world-class master-Planned City in Accra, Ghana. Appolonia City. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.appolonia.com.gh/ 29. Addo-Fening, R. (2013). Ghana under colonial rule: An outline of the early period and the interwar years. Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, (15), 39-70. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/ stable/43855011 30. Ibid.

31. Ministry of Transport, Republic of Ghana. (n.d.) About Us. Retrieved from https://www.mot.gov.gh/2/ about-ministry-of-transport 32. Rides, R. (2018, December 15). The State of Public Transport in Accra. Medium. https://medium. com/@rabarides/the-state-of-public-transport-in-accra-89405e69afcc 33. World Bank, (n.d.). Case Study: Accra, Ghana. Toolkit on Intelligent Transport Systems for Urban Transport.

World Bank. https://www.ssatp.org/sites/ssatp/files/publications/Toolkits/ITS%20 Toolkit%20content/case-studies/accra-ghana.html 34. Rides, R. (2018, December 15). The State of Public Transport in Accra. Medium. https://medium.com/@ rabarides/the-state-of-public-transport-in-accra-89405e69afcc 35. Doan, P., & Oduro, C. Y. (2012). Patterns of population growth in peri‐urban Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 36(6), 1306-1325.

36. Metro Mass Transit. (n.d). About Us. Retrieved from https://metromasstransit.com.gh/about-us/ 37. World Bank, (n.d.). Case Study: Accra, Ghana. Toolkit on Intelligent Transport Systems for Urban Transport.

World Bank. https://www.ssatp.org/sites/ssatp/files/publications/Toolkits/ITS%20 Toolkit%20content/case-studies/accra-ghana.html 38. World Health Organization. (n.d.) Urban Health Initiative, Pilot projects: Accra and Kathmandu/Accra.

Retrieved from https://www.who.int/initiatives/urban-health-initiative/pilot-projects/accra 39. Doan, P., & Oduro, C. Y. (2012). Patterns of population growth in peri‐urban Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 36(6), 1306-1325.

40. Ibid.

41. Weiss, B. (2016). Gridlock in West Africa: Accra’s Troubled Attempts to Tackle Its Traffic Crisis. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/11/gridlock-west-africaaccra-troubled-attempts-tackle-traffic-crisis 42. Korah, P. I., Matthews, T., & Tomerini, D. (2019). Characterising spatial and temporal patterns of urban evolution in Sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Accra, Ghana. Land Use Policy, 87, 104049.

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62. Smart Water Magazine. (2021, April 14). Accra Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ghana will be expanded.

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64. Awuah, E., Nyarko, K. B., & Owusu, P. A. (2009). Water and sanitation in Ghana. Desalination, 248(1-3), 460-467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2008.05.088 65. Awuah, E., Nyarko, K. B., & Owusu, P. A. (2009). Water and sanitation in Ghana. Desalination, 248(1-3), 460-467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2008.05.088 66. Asumadu-Sarkodie, S., Owusu, P. A., & Rufangura, P. (2017). Impact analysis of flood in Accra, Ghana.

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75. Ahadzie, D. K., & Amoa-Mensah, K. (2010). Management practices in the Ghanaian house building Industry. Journal of Science and Technology (Ghana), 30(2).

76. Ahadzie, D. K., & Amoa-Mensah, K. (2010). Management practices in the Ghanaian house building Industry. Journal of Science and Technology (Ghana), 30(2).

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78. Amoa-Mensah, K. (1999). Attaining Affordability through Cost Saving House Building Techniques: A Case Study of Strategies That Aided Resource Optimization in Some Affordable Housing Projects in Ghana. The Surveyor. Newsletter of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, 109-122.

79. Ahadzie, D. K., & Amoa-Mensah, K. (2010). Management practices in the Ghanaian house building Industry. Journal of Science and Technology (Ghana), 30(2).

80. Amoa-Mensah, K. (1999). Attaining Affordability through Cost Saving House Building Techniques: A Case Study of Strategies That Aided Resource Optimization in Some Affordable Housing Projects in Ghana. The Surveyor. Newsletter of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, 109-122.

81. Konadu‐Agyemang, K. W. A. D. W. O. (2001). Structural adjustment programs and housing affordability in Accra, Ghana. Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien, 45(4), 528-544.

82. Ghana. Statistical Service. (2010). 2010 Population & Housing Census: National Analytical Report.

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83. UN-HABITAT, 2011. Ghana housing profile, Nairobi: United Nations Human Settlement Programme.

84. Bank of Ghana, 2007. Housing industry in Ghana: Prospects and Challenges 85. National Development Planning Commission, 2005. Growth and Reduction Strategy (2006-2009).

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87. Ministry of Works and Housing, 2009, Draft National Housing Policy, Policy Planning and Evaluation.

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89. Olusegun, A. E., Benson, O. A., Esther, A. I., & Michael, A. O. (2011). Corruption in the construction industry of Nigeria: causes and solutions. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences (JETEMS), 2(3), 156-159.

90. Awuvafoge, S. A. (2013). Affordable housing in urban areas in Ghana: Issues and recommendations.

[Unpublished Thesis]. Ball State University.

91. Osei-Tutu, E. and Adjei-Kumi, T. (2009) An Evaluation of Housing Cost Trends in Ghana for the Period 1991-2008. In: Atiemo, E., Osei-Tutu, E., Solomon-Ayeh, B., Decardi-Nelson, I., and Amankwah, P. K. (Eds) Procs of National Housing Conference 7-8 October, 2009 at STEPRI: pp. 166-182.

92. Songsore, J., McGranahan, G., & Kjellen, M. (2004). Tenure, housing and environmental management among families in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) of Ghana. Institute of African Studies Research Review, 2004(sup-5), 69-83 93. Teye, J. K., Teye, I., & Asiedu, M. O. (2015). Financing housing in Ghana: challenges to the development of formal mortgage system. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 30(1), 1-16.

94. Bank of Ghana, 2007. Housing industry in Ghana: Prospects and Challenges 95. Segbawu,L. (2010) Effects of Population Increase on Houses as land use in Ghana Retrieved from http://www.modernghana.com/news/299001/1/effects-of-population- Increase-on-housing-as-landhtml 96. Amoa-Mensah, K. (1999) Attaining Affordability through Cost Saving House Building Techniques: A case study of Strategies that aided resource optimization in some affordable housing projects in Ghana. The Surveyor, Newsletter of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors. pp. 109-122.

97. Segbawu,L. (2010) Effects of Population Increase on Houses as land use in Ghana Retrieved from http://www.modernghana.com/news/299001/1/effects-of-population- Increase-on-housing-as-landhtml 98. Asare, E and Whitehead, C. (2006) Formal mortgage markets in Ghana: nature and implications, RICS Research Paper Series, Volume 6 Number 13, October.

99. Afrane, S., & Asamoah, P. K. B. (2016). Housing situation in Kumasi.

100.

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101. Ibid.

102.

Teye, J. K., Teye, I., & Asiedu, M. O. (2015). Financing housing in Ghana: challenges to the development of formal mortgage system. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 30(1), 1-16.

103.Cooperative Societies Act. (1968). International Labour Organization. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/ docs/ELECTRONIC/18180/107411/... /GHA18180.pdf 104.

Owusu, S. E. (1981). Housing Co-operatives in Ghana: Problems and Prospects. Spatial Environmental and Resource Policy in the Developing Countries, 10(9).

105.

Ansah, S. K., & Ametepey, S. O. (2014). Housing deficit and delivery in Ghana: Intervention by various Governments. International Journal of Development and Sustainability, 3(5), 978–988..

106.

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107. Owusu, S. E. (1981). Housing Co-operatives in Ghana: Problems and Prospects. Spatial Environmental and Resource Policy in the Developing Countries, 10(9).

108.

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109.

Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate, 28(1), 64–78.

110. Tweneboa, A. (2011). Factors Shaping Real Estate Development In Ghana. ir.knust.edu.gh 111. Adarkwah, B. K. (2018, June). An Assessment of the Poor Contribution of Housing Cooperatives to Housing Development in Ghana. The Case Study of the Offinso Cooperative Society. Unpublished Thesis. KNUST, Ghana.

112. Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate, 28(1), 64–78.

113. Dobson, S. (2012, April 2). Innovations in Affordable Housing: Amui Dzor Housing Project. Slum Dwellers International. https://sdinet.org/2012/04/innovations-in-affordable-housing-amui-dzorhousing-project/ 114. Danso-Wiredu, E. Y., & Midheme, E. (2017). Slum upgrading in developing countries: Lessons from Ghana and Kenya. Ghana Journal of Geography, 9(1), 88–108.

115. Dobson, S. (2012, April 2). Innovations in Affordable Housing: Amui Dzor Housing Project. Slum Dwellers International. https://sdinet.org/2012/04/innovations-in-affordable-housing-amui-dzorhousing-project/ 116. Terry, A. (2013). Housing project brings water, sanitation to Amui Dzor slum. Global News. https:// globalnews.ca/news/513539/housing-project-brings-water-sanitation-to-amui-dzor-slum/amp/ 117. Danso-Wiredu, E. Y., & Midheme, E. (2017). Slum upgrading in developing countries: Lessons from Ghana and Kenya. Ghana Journal of Geography, 9(1), 88–108.

118. Terry, A. (2013). Housing project brings water, sanitation to Amui Dzor slum. Global News. https:// globalnews.ca/news/513539/housing-project-brings-water-sanitation-to-amui-dzor-slum/amp/ 119. Ghana Housing Sector Profile. (2011). UN-HABITAT. https://unhabitat.org/ghana-housing-sectorprofile-0 120.Terry, A. (2013). Housing project brings water, sanitation to Amui Dzor slum. Global News. https:// globalnews.ca/news/513539/housing-project-brings-water-sanitation-to-amui-dzor-slum/amp/ 121. Housing & Community Infrastructure Upgrading. (2021, October 1). [People’s Dialogue on Human Settlements]. https://www.pdghana.org/housing-and-community-infrastructure-upgrading/ 122. Danso-Wiredu, E. Y., & Midheme, E. (2017). Slum upgrading in developing countries: Lessons from Ghana and Kenya. Ghana Journal of Geography, 9(1), 88–108.

123. Ibid.

124.Dobson, S. (2012, April 2). Innovations in Affordable Housing: Amui Dzor Housing Project. Slum Dwellers International. https://sdinet.org/2012/04/innovations-in-affordable-housing-amui-dzorhousing-project/ 125. Nunbogu, A. M. (2014). Self-organisation in informal settlements: A case study of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana [Master’s Dissertation]. University of Groningen.

126. Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate, 28(1), 64–78.

127. Dobson, S. (2012, April 2). Innovations in Affordable Housing: Amui Dzor Housing Project. Slum Dwellers International. https://sdinet.org/2012/04/innovations-in-affordable-housing-amui-dzorhousing-project/ 128.Nunbogu, A. M. (2014). Self-organisation in informal settlements: A case study of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana [Master’s Dissertation]. University of Groningen.

129. Ghana Housing Sector Profile. (2011). UN-HABITAT. https://unhabitat.org/ghana-housing-sectorprofile-0 130.Two urban initiatives tackle housing & energy in Ghana. (2021, October 1). Design Indaba. https:// www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/two-urban-initiatives-tackle-housing-energy-ghana 131. Dobson, S. (2012, April 2). Innovations in Affordable Housing: Amui Dzor Housing Project. Slum Dwellers International.

132. Terry, A. (2013). Housing project brings water, sanitation to Amui Dzor slum. Global News. https:// globalnews.ca/news/513539/housing-project-brings-water-sanitation-to-amui-dzor-slum/amp/ 133. Nunbogu, A. M. (2014). Self-organisation in informal settlements: A case study of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana [Master’s Dissertation]. University of Groningen.

134.

Ibid.

135. Dobson, S. (2012, April 2). Innovations in Affordable Housing: Amui Dzor Housing Project. Slum Dwellers International.

136. Nunbogu, A. M. (2014). Self-organisation in informal settlements: A case study of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana [Master’s Dissertation]. University of Groningen.

137. Appiah-Kubi, J., & Amoako, E. O. (2020). The Role of Community Development in Slum Electrification Efforts in Ashaiman, Ghana. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(2), 203– 215. http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CRJSSH.3.2.08 138.Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate, 28(1), 64–78.

139. Nunbogu, A. M. (2014). Self-organisation in informal settlements: A case study of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana [Master’s Dissertation]. University of Groningen.

140.

Terry, A. (2013). Housing project brings water, sanitation to Amui Dzor slum. Global News. https:// globalnews.ca/news/513539/housing-project-brings-water-sanitation-to-amui-dzor-slum/amp/ 141. Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate, 28(1), 64–78.

142.

Ghana Housing Sector Profile. (2011). UN-HABITAT. https://unhabitat.org/ghana-housing-sectorprofile-0 143.Danso-Wiredu, E. Y., & Midheme, E. (2017). Slum upgrading in developing countries: Lessons from Ghana and Kenya. Ghana Journal of Geography, 9(1), 88–108.

144.

Terry, A. (2013). Housing project brings water, sanitation to Amui Dzor slum. Global News. https:// globalnews.ca/news/513539/housing-project-brings-water-sanitation-to-amui-dzor-slum/amp/ 145.Ibid.

146.

Danso-Wiredu, E. Y., & Midheme, E. (2017). Slum upgrading in developing countries: Lessons from Ghana and Kenya. Ghana Journal of Geography, 9(1), 88–108.

147. Ibid.

148.

Amui Dzor Housing Construction. (2016, February 19). Urban Poor Fund International. http://upfi. info/projects/housing-construction-amui-dzor-ashaiman/ 149.

Danso-Wiredu, E. Y., & Midheme, E. (2017). Slum upgrading in developing countries: Lessons from Ghana and Kenya. Ghana Journal of Geography, 9(1), 88–108.

150.Ghana Housing Sector Profile. (2011). UN-HABITAT. https://unhabitat.org/ghana-housing-sectorprofile-0 151. Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate, 28(1), 64–78.

152. Terry, A. (2013). Housing project brings water, sanitation to Amui Dzor slum. Global News. https:// globalnews.ca/news/513539/housing-project-brings-water-sanitation-to-amui-dzor-slum/amp/ 153. Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate, 28(1), 64–78.

154.

Adarkwah, B. K. (2018, June). An Assessment of the Poor Contribution of Housing Cooperatives to Housing Development in Ghana. The Case Study of the Offinso Cooperative Society. Unpublished Thesis. KNUST, Ghana.

155. Terry, A. (2013). Housing project brings water, sanitation to Amui Dzor slum. Global News. https:// globalnews.ca/news/513539/housing-project-brings-water-sanitation-to-amui-dzor-slum/amp/ 156. Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate, 28(1), 64–78.

157. Sannie, A. (2014, January 7). President Mahama Calls For Partnership In Housing. NDC UK. Retrieved from http://www.ndcuk.org/?q=node/12583

GRAPHIC INFORMATION ENDNOTES A. Key Facts About the Amui Dzor Co-op Amui Dzor Housing Construction. UPFI projects | Amui Dzor Housing Construction. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from http://upfi.info/projects/housing-construction-amui-dzor-ashaiman/.

Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate Danso-Wiredu, E. Y., & Midheme, E. (2017). Slum upgrading in developing countries: Lessons from Ghana and Kenya. Ghana Journal of Geography, 9(1), 88–108.

Amui Dzor Housing Construction. UPFI projects | Amui Dzor Housing Construction. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from http://upfi.info/projects/housing-construction-amui-dzor-ashaiman/.

Gillespie, T. (2018). Collective self-help, financial inclusion, and the commons: Searching for solutions to Accra’s housing crisis. Housing Policy Debate Danso-Wiredu, E. Y., & Midheme, E. (2017). Slum upgrading in developing countries: Lessons from Ghana and Kenya. Ghana Journal of Geography, 9(1), 88–108.

B. Major Players: Who Made Amui Dzor Happen?

Dobson, S. (2012, April 2). Innovations in Affordable Housing: Amui Dzor Housing Project. Slum Dwellers International. https://sdinet.org/2012/04/innovations-in-affordable-housing-amui-dzor-housing-project/ Ghana Housing Sector Profile. (2011). UN-HABITAT. https://unhabitat.org/ghana-housing-sector-profile-0 Housing & Community Infrastructure Upgrading. (2021, October 1). [People’s Dialogue on Human Settlements]. https://www.pdghana.org/housing-and-community-infrastructure-upgrading/ Nunbogu, A. M. (2014). Self-organisation in informal settlements: A case study of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana [Master’s Dissertation]. University of Groningen.

UPP 508 Global Urbanization: Midterm Report Bernard Adarkwah, Isobel Araujo, Adam Davis, Jacob Rosenblum, Maggie Schafer UIC COLLEGE OF URBAN PLANNING AND POLICY, 2021