Probing political paradox: Urban expansion, floods risk vulnerability and social justice in urban Africa

Møller-Jensen, Lasse; Agergaard, Jytte; Andreasen, Manja Hoppe; Kofie, Richard Y.; Yiran, Gerald A. B.; Oteng-Ababio, Martin

doi:10.1080/07352166.2022.2108436

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The majority of these marginalised areas within Accra are flood-prone areas and are underserved. In the periurban areas also, most of these flood-prone areas are increasingly being inhabited by the emerging middle-income group [21,46] due to scarcity of land. This observation is evident in the areas selected for the present study as Glefe is a low-income community while the others are mixed.…”

Section: Description Of the Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial Analysis of Exposure of Roads to Flooding and Its Implications for Mobility in Urban/Peri-Urban Accra

Yiran,

Oteng Ababio,

Allotey

et al. 2024

IJGI

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Climate change seriously threatens human systems, properties and livelihoods. Global projections suggest a continuous increase in the frequency and severity of weather events, with severe outcomes. Although the trends and impacts are highly variable depending on location, most studies tend to concentrate on either the urban or rural areas, with little focus on peri-urban areas. Yet, in Sub-Saharan Africa, peri-urban areas display unique characteristics: inadequate infrastructure, unplanned development, weak governance, and environmental degradation, all of which exacerbate flood impact and thus need academic attention. This study contributes to filling this gap by assessing the flood vulnerability of roads in peri-urban Accra and its implications for mobility. Based on the fieldwork, the study delineated and analysed potential zones within the research locations. The researchers calculated roads’ absolute and relative lengths, using a spatial overlay (intersection) of potentially flooded roads with the total road network within the grid cells of 500 m by 500 m. These measures were adopted and used as exposure measures. The findings revealed that over 80% of roads with lengths between 100 m and 500 m were exposed to floods. Some areas had higher exposure indices, with absolute road lengths ranging from 1.5 km to 3.2 km and relative road lengths between 0.8 and 1.0. There were significant variations in road exposure between and within neighbourhoods. Depending on the depth and duration of the floodwater, residents may be unable to access their homes or carry out their daily activities. In conclusion, this study highlights the differential vulnerability of peri-urban areas to road flooding and recommends targeted provision of flood-resilient infrastructure to promote sustainable development.

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Section: Description Of the Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, most recent studies [21] have confirmed that peri-urban Accra are experiencing uncontrolled urbanisation resulting in haphazard and unplanned developments. Some of these developments are even encroaching on sensitive lands [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Analysis of Exposure of Roads to Flooding and Its Implications for Mobility in Urban/Peri-Urban Accra

Yiran,

Oteng Ababio,

Allotey

et al. 2024

IJGI

Self Cite

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“…The condition of roads and the nature of transport infrastructure greatly influence urban residents’ mobility patterns and activities. Previous studies have highlighted how floods affect the road network, with consequent service interruption and mobility disruption (Cook & Butz, 2013; Moller‐Jensen et al ., 2022). Flooded surfaces and unmotorable roads are the most common barriers to mobility among low‐income urban residents (Andreasen et al ., 2022; Böcker et al ., 2013; Ryser & Halseth, 2008).…”

Section: Extreme Flooding and Disrupted Mobilities In Accra And Tamalementioning

confidence: 99%

‘We are at the mercy of the floods!’ : Extreme weather events, disrupted mobilities, and everyday navigation in urban Ghana

Amankwaa

Gough

2023

Singap J Trop Geogr

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This paper examines how extreme weather events affect the mobility of low-income urban residents in Ghana. Bringing together scholarship on extreme weather and mobilities, it explores the differential impact of flooding on their everyday lives as they navigate the cities of Accra and Tamale. A range of qualitative methods were drawn on, including semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and follow-along-participant observations in selected communities of both cities. Three key themes emerged: disrupted road and transport infrastructure, everyday mobility challenges, and coping/adaptive strategies. In flooding conditions, residents experienced difficulties leaving/returning home, engaging in income-generating activities, and accessing transport services and other key urban infrastructure. Conceptually, the paper reveals how disruption to urban residents' daily movements and activities (re)produces new forms of mobilities and immobilities, which have three relational elements: postponed, improvised and assisted. Throughout the analysis, we show how these mobilities/immobilities vary by age and gender: all urban residents, (though women in particular), experience postponed mobility; young people especially engage in improvised mobility; and children and the elderly are in greatest need of assisted mobility. The paper thus contributes to scholarship on extreme weather events and mobility by providing a more spatially nuanced understanding of the multi-faceted domains in which flooding, socio-economic conditions and adaptive strategies intersect to influence urban mobility in resource poor settings.

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“…It is also hard to imagine that such policies would be implemented without some measure of selective enforcement and corrupt practices. Municipal measures to reduce flood vulnerability are often selective and tend to prioritise territories developed and inhabited by resourceful groups (Møller-Jensen et al 2022). Research in other cities also documents selective enforcement of development control and demolition campaigns, which are disproportionately skewed toward settlements accommodating low-income groups, while encroachment from commercial developments and high-income residential areas is blatantly overlooked (Weinstein et al 2019;Alvarez & Cardenas 2019;Batubara et al 2018;Padawangi & Douglass 2015).…”

Section: Impediments To Planning For Preservation Of Ecologically Sen...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas: drivers, impediments and consequences

Andreasen

Agergaard

Kofie

et al. 2022

Buildings and Cities

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Probing political paradox: Urban expansion, floods risk vulnerability and social justice in urban Africa

Cited by 13 publications

References 23 publications

Spatial Analysis of Exposure of Roads to Flooding and Its Implications for Mobility in Urban/Peri-Urban Accra

Spatial Analysis of Exposure of Roads to Flooding and Its Implications for Mobility in Urban/Peri-Urban Accra

‘We are at the mercy of the floods!’ : Extreme weather events, disrupted mobilities, and everyday navigation in urban Ghana

Urban encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas: drivers, impediments and consequences

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