Dynamics Of Housing Among Poor Migrants: A Case Study of Agbogbloshie / Old Fadama In The Ashiedu-Keteke Sub-Metropolitan Area.
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Date
2006-07
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Abstract
Access to housing is a key social issue in Ghana. The housing market is characterized by insufficient existing stock, inadequate housing delivery frameworks, limited financial provision and hence ongoing under-supply. Large numbers of Ghanaians, even informal employment, find it difficult to access housing. The Poor bears a disproportionate burden of the housing shortage especially in the city of Accra. This has resulted in the proliferation of slums in major cities including Accra and the subsequent housing market in these settlements.
Target II of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is specific on achieving a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers world wide by 2020. Implicitly this recognition highlight slums as a development tissue which needs to be faced because of its effects on the life of individuals and families. In Ghana, the GPRS I in line with the declaration propose the upgrading slum settlements targeting 500 thousand people. All these initiatives suggest the urban poor have a unique form of housing themselves that might not conform to acceptable international and national standards.
The study essentially sought to identify the extent of the housing challenge the poor migrants encounter and the processes they go through in housing themselves. The Agbogbloshie / Old Fadama located in the city of Accra is patronized by migrants from the different regions of Ghana largely employed in the informal sector of the economy. Two main category of dwelling units were identified, namely the shacks and the kiosks, shacks are however the dominant and preferred dwelling units in the settlement. A large group of renters live along with owners also known as slum landlords. The shack seems to suggest permanency as well as best fit to withstand the threats of the weather. For those renting, the daily rental unit cost ¢4500and ¢7000respectively for a shack and kiosk respectively. Occupancy is very high beginning from 10 to as high as 20 people depending on the size of the unit.
Contrary to the often repeated reports on the settlement as a chaotic place, the study observed a highly organized informal housing market regulated by slum land lords with considerable influence. In the context of housing, the study observed a trend in which migrants graduate from a lowly placed new migrant to a sophisticated middle income individual, who may reside outside the settlement yet has vested interest in the settlement. The pace of graduation seems to depend on the rate of integration into the urban setting as well as improvement in income.
Description
MA. Development Studies
Keywords
Agbogbloshie, Old Fadama, Ashiedu-Keteke Sub-Metropolitan Area, Housing, Poor Migrants