The more things change, the more they stay the same? A familiar depiction of present-day Accra, Ghana, but this speech was made in 1946: “Accra is a town like Freetown. During the war, its water and electric services have had to do double work, and it has surprised me that they have managed to go on working…
Amidst the hustle and bustle of Saturday morning commerce at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, a group of activists assemble. They start out at the city’s largest roundabout – Kwame Nkrumah Circle — where passerbys, vendors and traffic come together. This group of activists, brandishing their placards, have come together to protest against the multinational company Monsanto.…
Here in Accra, Ghana, PARK(ing) Day came a little bit early this year (around the world, it’s to be celebrated on September 20th this year). But the essence of what we celebrated and promoted — transforming a car park into a people’s park to demonstrate the importance of public spaces, community activity and recreation —…
Africanurbanism.net article “A Changing Accra” is featured in the September 2013 issue of ArchiAfrika magazine. Have a look at the entire issue below!
“In Ghana, what attracts people to places isn’t the [physical] space, it’s the event,” a friend said to me in conversation a few weeks ago. I was reminded of his words this past weekend, standing at the triangle-shaped Otublohum Square in Jamestown. As I watched, bike stuntmen paraded up and down High Street, doing tricks…
Originally published at UrbanAfrica.net by Victoria Okoye. “Mmofra means children,” explains Amowi Phillips of the Mmofra Foundation, giving the backstory on the children’s park that unfolds around us. Overhead, the gray sky and the sprinkle of droplets threaten rain, but here below we’re in an expansive green space full of life and activity. She takes me around…
The 12-acre green space in central Accra known as Efua Sutherland Children’s Park is one of the city’s largest parks. Situated in the city centre and proximate to the government ministries zone, the national theatre and the city’s largest hotel, one might expect the space to be busy on a typical weekend afternoon. But in…