The Volta River Project: planning, housing and resettlement in Ghana, 1950–1965

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dc.contributor.authorAddo, I.A.
dc.contributor.authorJackson, I.
dc.contributor.authorUduku, O.
dc.contributor.authorOpong, R.A.
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-13T08:24:15Z
dc.date.available2019-12-13T08:24:15Z
dc.date.issued2019-08-12
dc.descriptionResearch Articleen_US
dc.description.abstractThis paper investigates the housing schemes proposed in connection with the Volta River Project, Ghana, in the mid-1950s to early 1960s. The Volta River Project formed part of Kwame Nkrumah’s vision for Ghana’s modernisation and industrialisation in the wake of political independence. Three associated worker housing schemes demonstrated somewhat contradictory design and construction methods, from high specification, extensive amenities, and comprehensive servicing, through to self-build ‘core’ houses amounting to little more than single-room dwellings. The paper traces the complex and controversial history of these schemes, supplemented with findings of several field trips to the settlements in question, to unravel the value of the ‘Core Houses’ approach. The most successful project to incorporate indigenous agency and true collaboration was the semi-formal ‘Combined Area’ housing at Akosombo, a positive model for shared agency and collaboration in planning, housing, and facilities delivery. Sitting alongside the carefully manicured plan of Akosombo, with its regulated market, excellent health care and desire to set high standards of cleanliness, the Combined Area has not only provided homes for the lower-paid and labouring workers of the town, but has developed over time into a settlement where professionals and retired government workers are also now residing, not out of necessity but by choice. By actively developing their own homes, shared spaces and amenities there has developed a strong sense of ownership, community, and identity. The success and level of attachment to this settlement clearly extends beyond its material presence and through the shared experience of helping to cultivate a place of one’s own.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe British Academy [grant number PM150042].en_US
dc.identifier.citationIain Jackson, Ola Uduku, Irene Appeaning Addo & Rexford Assasie Opong (2019) The Volta River Project: planning, housing and resettlement in Ghana, 1950–1965, The Journal of Architecture, 24:4, 512-548, DOI: 10.1080/13602365.2019.1643389en_US
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.1080/13602365.2019.1643389
dc.identifier.urihttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/34166
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherThe Journal of Architecture ISSN:en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries24;4
dc.subjecthousing schemesen_US
dc.subjectVolta River Projecten_US
dc.subjectGhanaen_US
dc.subjectCore Housesen_US
dc.titleThe Volta River Project: planning, housing and resettlement in Ghana, 1950–1965en_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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