City profile: Tamale, Ghana.

Abstract

Tamale is the capital of the Northern Region of Ghana. It emerged as a growth point for northern Ghana upon in-dependence in 1957, and has since become the third largest urban centre in the country. The city has the secondhighest annual population growth rates after Kumasi Metropolitan Area. In this paper, we profile Tamale regard-ing its social, economic and spatial growth dynamics, transformation and governance as well as highlight the im-plications of the city's growth trajectories for its sustainable futures.