The Challenge of Slums in the Global South and Community-led Settlement Planning and Design under UN-HABITAT’s Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme in Ga Mashie in Accra

Abstract

Initially, colonial urbanisation and subsequently, spontaneous urbanisation and the growth related to both trends, as well as the post-colonial challenge of managing these, resulted in the phenomenal development of slums in the towns and cities of the developing countries, especially in Africa. Previously, slums were seen as undesirable and became targets of brutal, violent demolitions, removals and unfair relocation practices. However, global responses included the general acceptance and recognition of slum upgrading, in situ, and as an integral part of citywide scale-up. UN-HABITAT piloted its Slum Upgrading Facility (SUF) in four developing countries and upon its success, initiated the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP), which, in Ghana, was piloted in the indigenous community of Ga Mashie/Old Accra, where its residents took up their own settlement planning and design; their experience was unique, innovative and exemplary. The study appraised this initiative in terms of the PSUP phases, objectives of the participatory community settlement planning and design process, stakeholders, consultative approaches and planning techniques, proposals, implementation roadmap and the planning administration procedures involved, identified issues and challenges and made suggestions for improvement of slum settlement planning and design practices and amelioration of the conditions of the Ga Mashie community.

Keywords: Inner-city slum conditions, slum upgrading initiatives, participatory community settlement planning processes, local spatial design, Ga Mashie, Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme

DOI: 10.7176/HRL/54-03

Publication date:September 30^th 2023