Dagna Rams is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Social and Political Science at the University of Lausanne, researching urban management and the politics and economies at the heart of the slum communities/informal settlements of Old Fadama and Agbogbloshie (Ghana). On a research outing around one of Accra’s informal settlements, my friend Abdallah (a slum activist…
When it comes to sustainable improvements in community water and sanitation access, the “hardware” (physical facility) is just the beginning — it’s the “software” (changing attitudes, behaviors, mindsets) that makes the difference. Equally important is addressing the economic dynamics that govern people’s water vending and purchasing behavior. In the peri-urban community of Manhean, in Ghana’s Greater Accra Region, there’s…
In her article “Intertwined Architectures,” in ArchiAfrika’s March newsletter, author Danièle Diwouta-Kotto discusses the use, misuse and reuse of buildings in contemporary Douala, Cameroon, and the significant changes and deterioration of these buildings over time: “The colonial built environment is a shared heritage, part of the Douala architectural history. However, the bond between the city…
In order to address massive congestion throughout the Greater Accra Region, the Ghana’s government, in collaboration with the World Bank, Global Environment Facility and French Development Agency have launched a USD 46million Urban Transport Project, a five-tiered project aimed at regulating and improving urban transport in two major cities: Accra, the southern capital, and Kumasi…
Plainly speaking, mixed-use development is the practice of having more than one form of “use” or activity (e.g., residential, commercial, office, recreational, industry) in a building or building complex. “Mixed use,” in city planning terms then, is a combination of these activities in one space. Some of the most common forms of mixed-use activity include…
This post was originally written as an article for Unchain Africa Press a monthly newsletter on African development topics. The original article can be accessed here. In Accra, as in many major African cities, traffic congestion has become a familiar source of frustration and a clear symptom for the need for transportation improvements. The trajectory…
Setting up design challenges for myself, to keep my skills up! Currently fiddling around with Google Sketchup trying to replicate this, a house in Warri, Nigeria: Here’s what I came up. At least it resembles the house, although it needs a bit of work. Not too bad for a first try…