Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban Ghana
Urban parks across Africa are reported to have significantly declined over the years; a notable cause being their rezoning to other uses. This notwithstanding, there is little empirical data on the factors that result in the rezoning of parks, which consequently lead to their decline. This study add...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Urban Governance |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2664328622000705 |
| _version_ | 1797842762185310208 |
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| author | Dorcas Plange-Rhule Michael Osei Asibey Stephen Appiah Takyi Owusu Amponsah |
| author_facet | Dorcas Plange-Rhule Michael Osei Asibey Stephen Appiah Takyi Owusu Amponsah |
| author_sort | Dorcas Plange-Rhule |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Urban parks across Africa are reported to have significantly declined over the years; a notable cause being their rezoning to other uses. This notwithstanding, there is little empirical data on the factors that result in the rezoning of parks, which consequently lead to their decline. This study addresses this gap using 16 parks across 6 communities within the Kumasi Metropolis from a political ecology perspective. The results showed significant changes in lands zoned for parks mainly due to the politics of land ownership and administration as well as other social factors. Approximately 14 of the16 parks studied have either been rezoned to residential or commercial use or encroached upon by other uses. The rezoning of parks was gradual, unapproved, unplanned, and occurred at the ‘blind sight’ of local planning authorities. Existing land tenure arrangements and laxity in the enforcement of laws are some of the reported barriers affecting park development and management in the city. The study posits that the strong traditional land ownership arrangements and sociopolitical conflicts between the traditional and state authorities are critical for Kumasi's park development and management. The study concludes that enforcing legal frameworks, and institutionalizing parkland ownership can contribute significantly to the development, management, and protection of parks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:53:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3945a4e43b9b49a7ae3d638fef92c05f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2664-3286 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:53:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Urban Governance |
| spelling | doaj.art-3945a4e43b9b49a7ae3d638fef92c05f2023-04-21T06:46:19ZengElsevierUrban Governance2664-32862023-03-01312234Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban GhanaDorcas Plange-Rhule0Michael Osei Asibey1Stephen Appiah Takyi2Owusu Amponsah3Department of Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, College of Art and Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaCorresponding author.; Department of Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, College of Art and Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, College of Art and Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, College of Art and Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaUrban parks across Africa are reported to have significantly declined over the years; a notable cause being their rezoning to other uses. This notwithstanding, there is little empirical data on the factors that result in the rezoning of parks, which consequently lead to their decline. This study addresses this gap using 16 parks across 6 communities within the Kumasi Metropolis from a political ecology perspective. The results showed significant changes in lands zoned for parks mainly due to the politics of land ownership and administration as well as other social factors. Approximately 14 of the16 parks studied have either been rezoned to residential or commercial use or encroached upon by other uses. The rezoning of parks was gradual, unapproved, unplanned, and occurred at the ‘blind sight’ of local planning authorities. Existing land tenure arrangements and laxity in the enforcement of laws are some of the reported barriers affecting park development and management in the city. The study posits that the strong traditional land ownership arrangements and sociopolitical conflicts between the traditional and state authorities are critical for Kumasi's park development and management. The study concludes that enforcing legal frameworks, and institutionalizing parkland ownership can contribute significantly to the development, management, and protection of parks.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2664328622000705Urban PlanningUrban parksPoliticsLand tenureKumasiPolitical ecology |
| spellingShingle | Dorcas Plange-Rhule Michael Osei Asibey Stephen Appiah Takyi Owusu Amponsah Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban Ghana Urban Governance Urban Planning Urban parks Politics Land tenure Kumasi Political ecology |
| title | Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban Ghana |
| title_full | Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban Ghana |
| title_short | Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban Ghana |
| title_sort | urban parks under siege the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban ghana |
| topic | Urban Planning Urban parks Politics Land tenure Kumasi Political ecology |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2664328622000705 |
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