SUSTAINING URBAN GREEN SPACES IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF KUMASI METROPOLIS, GHANA by COLLINS ADJEI MENSAH A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Centre for Urban and Regional Studies School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Birmingham July, 2015 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Urban green spaces are useful natural assets that support the development of cities in diverse ways. However, statistics show that these spaces are under severe threat with the situation in Africa been critical. This study sought to assess the governance of urban green spaces and develop sustainable strategies to address problems affecting the development of urban green spaces in the context of Africa. The case study design was used and Kumasi Metropolis (Ghana) was selected as the study area. Different qualitative research techniques were employed whilst representatives of green spaces organisations and the local people constituted the study population. The study revealed that there is poor state of urban green spaces in Kumasi with factors such as urbanisation, poor enforcement of development controls, conflicting land ownership rights on green spaces, and lack of priority to green spaces being among the major causes for that. This problem was further exacerbated by complexity in the governance of green spaces, poor regulation of power among stakeholders, lack of community participation, and lack of consensus in decisions on green spaces. Sustainable strategies recommended to address the situation include controlling encroachment of green spaces, prioritising green spaces and building stronger collaborative governance for green spaces. i DEDICATION To my wife Augustina Anoom, and children Clifford, Christabel, Caroline and Carolina. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To God be the glory for a great thing he has done. I am very grateful to God for helping me to successfully complete the 3-year journey of my PhD programme. Apart from the spiritual support of God, the completion of my PhD programme was achieved through the support and efforts of some important personalities. First of all, I would like to extend a heart-warming thanks to my supervisors Dr. Lauren Andres and Dr. Mike Beazley for their wonderful guidance, ideas, and advice on my thesis. Special thanks also go to Prof. Jon Coaffee of University of Warwick who was my main supervisor at the beginning of my programme and to Dr Simon Pemberton of Keele University and Dr. Julian Clark of University of Birmingham who at a point in time acted as one of my supervisors. In fact, I appreciate all the efforts and intellectual thoughts of my various supervisors. It helped me to come up with a brilliant PhD thesis which has already produced four articles in highly respected peer review journals. I wish to extent my profound gratitude to Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) for fully sponsoring my studies in UK. Credit goes to Prof. P. K. Acheampong, Dr. Barima Antwi and Dr. Simon Mariwah of University of Cape Coast (Ghana) for various supports they provided to enable me complete my programme successfully. I also want to acknowledge various contributions from my family and friends such as my mother Beatrice Agatha Manu, Ayanda Roji (Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo), Isaac Aiddo (PhD colleague, University of Birmingham), Emmanual Osei Boateng (UK), Aaron Ahali (UK), Dauda Suleman, Dr. Otuo Serebour Agyemang (University of Cape Coast), and all the members of Church of Grace Ministries at Birmingham. Finally, I thank all my study participants for volunteering to contribute their ideas and experiences to make my thesis a success. For example, Collins Ohene Gyan (Development iii Planning Unit of KMA), representatives from the Department of Parks and Gardens, Town and Country Planning Department, Lands Commission, Forest Service Division, Wildlife Division, Department of Horticulture (KNUST), Department of Planning (KNUST), Angel Estate and Construction Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, selected private horticultural companies, and the media especially Captain Smart (formerly of Fox Fm, Kumasi) and Owuahene Addae Acheampong (Angel Fm, Kumasi). The Chiefs, assembly men, unit committee members, and the local people from Ahodwo, Nyiaso, Patasi, Danyami, and Amakom Neighbourhoods of Kumasi who participated in the study, I really appreciate your efforts because without your involvement this thesis could not have been possible. I cannot forget all my PhD colleagues at University of Birmingham (Room 225) for their wonderful encouragement and motivation especially Jannah Abidin, Tom Davis, Tom Disney, Elly Harrowel, Colin Lorne, Komali Yenneti, Upuli Perera, Bin Lee, and Tae Suk. The last but not least, all individuals who helped me in diverse ways either secretly or openly but their names were not mentioned, I say thank you. The almighty God who sees in secret will bless you abundantly to replenish whatever support you gave to me. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF FIGURES xiii LIST OF TABLES xvi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xviii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION PAGE 1.1 Background to the study 1 1.2 Statement of the problem 5 1.3 Aim and objectives of the study 6 1.4 Methods 7 1.5 Structure of the thesis 9 CHAPTER TWO: GREEN SPACES AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN PLANNING 12 2.1 Introduction 12 2.2 Nature and definition of urban green spaces 13 2.2.1 Typology of urban green spaces 16 2.2.2 Standards and coverage of green spaces in cities worldwide 19 v 2.3 Contributions of green spaces to urban development 25 2.3.1 Social contributions of green spaces 26 2.3.2 Environmental contributions of green spaces 29 2.3.3 Economic contributions of green spaces 31 2.4 Urban development models/theories on green spaces 34 2.4.1 Theories on planning around green spaces 35 2.4.1.1 The garden city model 35 2.4.1.2 Green planning models 39 2.4.1.3 Green urbanism 43 2.4.2 Theories on efficient urban land-use or land preservation 44 2.4.2.1 Compact city theory 44 2.4.2.2 Smart growth and new urbanism 46 2.5 Green spaces and sustainable urban development 49 2.5.1 Environmental sustainability and green spaces 50 2.5.2 Environmental justice and green spaces 54 2.6 Conclusion 58 CHAPTER THREE: GOVERNANCE OF URBAN GREEN SPACES: THEORIES AND CONCEPTS 60 3.1 Introduction 60 3.2 Social sustainability and governance: two intertwined concepts 61 3.3 The concept of urban governance 65 3.3.1 Structural perspective of urban governance 66 3.3.2 Cultural perspective of urban governance 67 vi 3.3.3 Rational perspective of urban governance 68 3.3.4 Reflection on the three perspectives 70 3.4 Theories of urban governance 72 3.4.1 Summarising ideas on various theories of urban governance 79 3.5 The collaborative governance theory 80 3.5.1 Who participates in collaborative governance? 81 3.5.2 Features of collaborative governance 81 3.5.3 Applications of collaborative governance 87 3.5.4 Concluding comments on collaborative governance theory 89 3.6 Concept of policy transfer 91 3.7 Conceptual framework for the study 93 3.8 Conclusion 98 CHAPTER FOUR: URBAN GREEN SPACES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF GHANA 100 4.1 Introduction 100 4.2 The nature and conditions of urban green spaces in Africa 101 4.3 Challenges facing the development of urban green spaces in Africa 105 4.3.1 Pressure of urbanisation 106 4.3.2 Insufficient operation of urban planning regulations 108 4.3.3 Social-economic and political challenges 112 4.4 Regulatory and institutional framework for town planning in Ghana 116 4.5 Sustainable development strategies in Ghana 128 4.5.1 Vision 2020 129 vii 4.5.2 Renewable Natural Resource Sector Strategy 130 4.5.3 Comprehensive Development Framework 131 4.5.4 Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy 132 4.5.5 Millennium City Initiative 133 4.5.6 Savannah Accelerated Development Programme 135 4.5.7 National urban policy 135 4.6 Conclusion 137 CHAPTER FIVE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 140 5.1 Introduction 140 5.2 Research aim and objectives 140 5.2.1 Propositions 142 5.3 Research philosophical background of the study 142 5.4 Case study strategy and the study area 144 5.4.1 Study area 146 5.4.2 Case selection 149 5.4.3 Target/study population 151 5.4.4 Sampling technique and sample size 152 5.4.5 Data sources and research instruments 155 5.5 Ethical considerations 158 5.6 Fieldwork experience and challenges 159 5.6.1 Data collection 160 5.6.2 Challenges from the field 161 5.7 Analytical framework 162 viii