What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, Ghana
For years, flood vulnerability management in Accra, the capital of Ghana, has been limited to demolition of affected buildings, forced eviction of flood victims or distribution of relieve items. While such approaches have either been resisted or condemned by affected households, state and city autho...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-03-01
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| Series: | City and Environment Interactions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590252020300192 |
| _version_ | 1818455283702169600 |
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| author | Michael Poku-Boansi Clifford Amoako Justice Kufuor Owusu-Ansah Patrick Brandful Cobbinah |
| author_facet | Michael Poku-Boansi Clifford Amoako Justice Kufuor Owusu-Ansah Patrick Brandful Cobbinah |
| author_sort | Michael Poku-Boansi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For years, flood vulnerability management in Accra, the capital of Ghana, has been limited to demolition of affected buildings, forced eviction of flood victims or distribution of relieve items. While such approaches have either been resisted or condemned by affected households, state and city authorities have defended them as the most appropriate remedies. Have flood events been properly understood? Are flood management approaches aimed at addressing the problem? What are the actual effects of current flood management practices? In responding to these questions, this study seeks to: (i) examine the contours and politics of managing flood vulnerability in the city (ii) understand the factors that have shaped city government's responses to flood events; and (iii) explore the challenges within the current institutional and legal arrangements for flood management. Using Agbogbloshie and Old Fadama – the largest slum communities in Accra - as cases, the study adopts mixed qualitative methods including: interviews of flood victims, focus group discussions, institutional consultations and review of government documents in gathering relevant empirical data. The study reveals that flood management approaches have been shaped by a complex network of actors with entrenched interests. Two levels of smart flood risk and vulnerability management have been proposed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T22:08:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ed44fe8c6d5548b79ccb4b99b74bd0a3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-2520 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T22:08:19Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | City and Environment Interactions |
| spelling | doaj.art-ed44fe8c6d5548b79ccb4b99b74bd0a32022-12-21T22:45:49ZengElsevierCity and Environment Interactions2590-25202020-03-015100038What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, GhanaMichael Poku-Boansi0Clifford Amoako1Justice Kufuor Owusu-Ansah2Patrick Brandful Cobbinah3Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Corresponding author.Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaFaculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, AustraliaFor years, flood vulnerability management in Accra, the capital of Ghana, has been limited to demolition of affected buildings, forced eviction of flood victims or distribution of relieve items. While such approaches have either been resisted or condemned by affected households, state and city authorities have defended them as the most appropriate remedies. Have flood events been properly understood? Are flood management approaches aimed at addressing the problem? What are the actual effects of current flood management practices? In responding to these questions, this study seeks to: (i) examine the contours and politics of managing flood vulnerability in the city (ii) understand the factors that have shaped city government's responses to flood events; and (iii) explore the challenges within the current institutional and legal arrangements for flood management. Using Agbogbloshie and Old Fadama – the largest slum communities in Accra - as cases, the study adopts mixed qualitative methods including: interviews of flood victims, focus group discussions, institutional consultations and review of government documents in gathering relevant empirical data. The study reveals that flood management approaches have been shaped by a complex network of actors with entrenched interests. Two levels of smart flood risk and vulnerability management have been proposed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590252020300192Smart citiesUrban planningFlood managementInformal communitiesVulnerabilityGovernance |
| spellingShingle | Michael Poku-Boansi Clifford Amoako Justice Kufuor Owusu-Ansah Patrick Brandful Cobbinah What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, Ghana City and Environment Interactions Smart cities Urban planning Flood management Informal communities Vulnerability Governance |
| title | What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, Ghana |
| title_full | What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, Ghana |
| title_fullStr | What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, Ghana |
| title_short | What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, Ghana |
| title_sort | what the state does but fails exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal accra ghana |
| topic | Smart cities Urban planning Flood management Informal communities Vulnerability Governance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590252020300192 |
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