Modelling the supply-side factors influencing the provision of amenities in gated communities: The case of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area in Ghana

Abstract

Fiscal constraints facing municipal governments make gated communities that self-finance their amenities a welcome phenomenon. However, studies exclusively devoted to investigating the types of amenities supplied in gated communities and the factors that determine their supply remain unexplored. This paper fills this gap by using survey data from 51 gated communities sampled across the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) in Ghana. After conceptualizing 10 different amenity categories commonly found in gated communities, it finds that security, governance, accessibility, and communalrelated amenities are those commonly found in gated communities in GAMA. Multiple linear regression modeling reveals that only four amenity categories, namely, security, governance, communal and health-related amenities have a significant model fit. It further finds that both the "number of houses planned" and the "year project construction began" increase the number of all four amenity categories provided in gated communities. However, other locational, company and project characteristics have a differential impact on the number of these four amenities provided, some of which appear to contradict some existing theoretical propositions underlying the provision of amenities in gated communities. It concludes by reflecting on municipal authorities' increasing reliance on gated communities to supply amenities in light of the findings.