Digitalisation for whom: The determinants of residents' use of the digital property address system in Accra, Ghana

Purpose There is an emerging digital turn in urban management in Africa, undergirded by efforts to address the challenges of rapid urbanisation. To ensure that this digitalisation agenda contributes to smart and sustainable communities, there is a need to trace residents' use of emerging digital technologies and address any impediments to broader utilisation. To this end, this paper aims to examine the determinants of residents' use of Ghana's digital property address system (DPAS) in suburban communities in Accra. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a detailed literature review of digital technologies and the factors that affect their use, this paper uses data from a cross-sectional survey of three suburban communities in Accra. A binary logistic regression model was then utilised to identify the significant factors that affect residents' use of the DPAS. Findings The findings showed that socioeconomic, housing, and psychosocial factors were the main determinants of residents' use of the DPAS. Specifically, house ownership, education and expected benefits had a positive relationship with residents' use of the DPAS. Findings highlight the need for urban policymakers to pay attention to systemic issues in Ghana's digital culture to ensure that digitalisation initiatives do not widen the digital divide and thus impede progress towards smart and sustainable urban development goals. Originality/value The growing scholarship on digitalisation in Africa has emphasised conditions, potentials and challenges in deploying digital technologies with little attention to the determinants of residents' use of these technologies. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap by bringing foundational issues critical to engendering equitable digitalisation agenda in Ghanaian cities and beyond.Immediate accessThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

A digital turn for urban management? Residents' perception and utilisation of the digital property address system in Accra, Ghana

Rapid urbanisation and its associated challenges in Global South countries have necessitated the use of digital technologies in urban management. Key to their successful utilisation for urban management is residents' perceptions and utilisation of these technologies. Yet, little attention has been given to this area of research. Using data gathered from a cross-sectional survey in three suburban communities, the study examined residents' perceptions and utilisation of the digital property address system (DPAS) in Accra, Ghana. The findings revealed that residents understand the benefits of the DPAS. However, residents’ perceived benefits, usage and challenges varied by socio-demographic groups. More importantly, the findings revealed that the use of the DPAS is beset with operational difficulties and non-use by government agencies. To ensure that digital technologies such as the DPAS provide opportunities for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development trajectories in Ghana and Africa, it is imperative that residents' use and challenges of such technologies inform improvements in their design and implementation