Urban Sprawl and Its Impact on Livelihoods and Ecology in Peri-Urban Areas: A Case Study of Greater Accra Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Rapid population growth and urban growth are phenomena happening in many developing countries and Ghana is not an exception. The rapid increase in population and urbanization has exerted serious pressure on most cities. Accra is the capital city of Ghana and has attracted migrants from all over the country to seek greener pastures but the resultant effects are congestion and housing shortage in the inner cities. The resultant effect of this phenomena is the sprawl of human settlement in to the peri-urban areas. Natural reserves and farmlands have been converted to other land use such as residential development and non-residential developments in the urban fringe and this serve as threat to livelihoods sustainability. This study focuses on urban sprawl and its impact on livelihoods sustainability in the peri-urban areas of Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. The study adapted a conceptual framework from Fang and Pal (2016) on drivers of urban sprawl in urbanizing China- a political ecology analysis. The political ecology of actors involved in land conversion in Ghana was discussed in the conceptual framework. The study employed different research methodologies which include primary and secondary sources of data. The study used stratified sampling in the selection of the road corridors where sprawling was massive. Multi-temporal set of Remote Sensing data was used to classify Landsat images of GAMA for the years 1986, 1991, 2008 and 2016 to know the extent of land use change. ENVI 5.1 was used to process, analyse and integrate the spatial data The findings revealed that there have been changes in land use like the conversion of farmlands to residential use in the peri-urban areas and traditional leaders were the main agents driving the sprawl. The study also revealed that the land market was lucrative and the resultant implications are on livelihood sustainability and the ecology. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v The study recommends vertical housing development and affordable housing in the inner cities. It also recommends proper planning policies so as to curb urban sprawl. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh