Mapping Flood Vulnerable Areas in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala using GIS

It is estimated that with the onset of climate change, flood risks will not subside in the future and the intensity and frequency of floods will threaten many regions of the world particularly urban areas. Current spatial plans used for guiding the development of urban areas have also been criticized for failing to match dynamism and unpredictable manifestations for instance climate change and flooding. Given this premise, there is a growing call for the need to integrate flood risks management strategies and spatial planning. This represents a proactive approach to dealing with both the probability and consequences of flooding in cities. As an important step towards this integration, this study sought to map flood vulnerable areas in the city of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala using GIS. The hydrology and weighted overlay (spatial analyst) techniques were used to analyse the materials for the study. The results showed the whole city was at risk of being inundated. The areas at high risk of flooding were at the core of the city whereas the no and low flood vulnerable areas were non-habitable. The study recommended the recovery of forest through afforestation among others as some flood mitigation strategies. Keywords: GIS, Vulnerability Maps, DEM, Flood risk, Land Cover, Quetzaltenang

Self-organisation in urban spatial planning: evidence from the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

There is growing interest among spatial planners to see spontaneous civic initiatives supporting urban development. The occurrence of self-organisation in two informal settlements in Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana is considered. The system theories of self-organisation (dissipative structures, synegertics and autopoietic) and actor-network theory were used to analyse the two cases. The findings indicate that actors in these informal settlements are triggered by certain contextual factors to undertake initiatives for their own survival and sustenance. At the regional level, these settlements jointly form patterns relating to self-organisation. We conclude that since self-organisation is context specific, planning rules should be reconstructed to guide actions of the various actors in the urban system

Juggling through Ghanaian urbanisation:flood hazard mapping of Kumasi

More recently, driven by rapid and unguided urbanisation and climate change, Ghanaian cities are increasingly becoming hotspots for severe flood-related events. This paper reviews urbanisation dynamics in Ghanaian cities, and maps flood hazard zones and access to flood relief services in Kumasi, drawing insight from multi-criteria analysis and spatial network analysis using ArcGIS 10.2. Findings indicate that flood hazard zones in Kumasi have been created by natural (e.g., climate change) and anthropogenic (e.g., urbanisation) factors, and the interaction thereof. While one would have expected the natural factors to guide, direct and steer the patterns of urban development from flood hazard zones, the GIS analysis shows that anthropogenic factors, particularly urbanisation, are increasingly concentrating population and physical structures in areas liable to flooding in the urban environment. This situation is compounded by rapid land cover/use changes and widespread haphazard development across the city. Regrettably, findings show that urban residents living in flood hazard zones in Kumasi are also geographically disadvantaged in terms of access to emergency services compared to those living in well-planned neighbourhoods

Mapping spatial and temporal dynamics in urban growth: the case of secondary cities in Northern Ghana.

Urbanization induced growth of secondary cities presents several issues and challenges for sustainable development. Yet, secondary cities continue to receive less attention from scholars, city planners and policymakers in Africa. Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of secondary cities is critical for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11. This paper examines the emerging spatial and temporal evolution of two secondary cities in Northern Ghana. The paper utilizes raster data (1990–2019) and applied landscape metrics to analyze spatial development in Wa and Bolgatanga municipalities along three concentric rings. The results show significant increase in built areas over the study period. Urban development in the two cities is becoming more or less fragmented, dispersed and contiguous. Inadequate spatial planning, weakly regulated development and uncoordinated land markets account for the fragmentated spatial forms. The two cities exhibit a monocentric form that fluctuates, is dynamic, and discontinuous. The paper reflects on the implications of the findings and suggests the need for a planned extension of secondary cities in Africa to generate efficient urban forms, curtail sprawl and protect the natural environment

Spatial Planning in Ghana: Exploring the Contradictions

The purpose of this research is twofold: to explore the complexity of spatial plan preparation and implementation in Ghana using Kumasi as a case study; and second, to examine the contradictions of spatial plans and 'actual development' occurring in Kumasi. Using social science research methods (semi-structured interviews) and physical survey (land use plans), findings indicate that spatial planning in Kumasi is a bureaucratic process hijacked by urban planning agencies with limited involvement of urban residents. As a result, urban development is considerably influenced by spontaneous informal development patterns (i.e. self-organization). This phenomenon of self-organization is expressed in a context of uncertainty created by weak spatial planning system which encourages haphazard development. Regrettably, in Kumasi, self-organization is often overlooked by spatial planning agencies as they focused on rigid and exclusionary spatial plans. This paper advocates consideration and integration of self-organization processes in spatial planning efforts to respond adequately to the urban development challenges confronting Kumasi

A Geospatial Approach to Sustainable Urban Planning: Lessons for Morogoro Municipal Council, Tanzania

Sustainable urban planning is essential in mediating the natural and built environments globally, yet, there is little progress as regards its attainment in developing countries. Rapid and unplanned urbanization continue to threaten the sustainability of many cities in Africa. By selecting Morogoro Municipal Council (MMC) in Tanzania as an example, this study applied well-known remote sensing techniques to understand the dynamics of urban growth and the implications for sustainable urban planning. The study analyzes spatio-temporal characteristics for eighteen years (2000–2018) based on urban land density using gradient and grid-based analysis to further examine land use and urban land density nexus. The results indicate declining urban land densities with distance to the city center, indicating a less compact and fragmented development at the urban fringes; and northward development with limited development to the south of MCC. The knowledge and understanding of the patterns of spatio-temporal conditions, land use planning, and management interventions in MMC are necessary for addressing the inadequacies associated with rapid urbanization within the study area. On this basis, we propose a shift from the modernist to the communicative planning strategy that strongly integrates the urban social, economic, and environmental imperatives, while being adaptable to evolving realities. This plan should also aim to curtail urban sprawl and create a viable city system and economically prosperous city structure for MMC

City profile: Wa, Ghana

The UN-Habitat III has placed secondary cities at the centre of the new urban agenda, given their roles in global development trajectories in the future. Wa, though a small city, is an important growth pole in North-western Ghana. Wa emerged as a trading town in the colonial era and since independence in 1957 has become a key growth centre in the development of North-western Ghana. However, the confluence of environmental vulnerabilities and pre-existing social inequalities resulting from centuries of colonial and post-colonial neglects, have led to increasing contestations and socio-ecological challenges. We profiled Wa through the lens of Southern urbanism and highlight its socio-economic, ecological and spatial development dynamics as an ordinary city of the Global South. The dynamics reflect a disconnection between capital and labour as well as contested resource flows, and these have implications for a transformative and sustainable urban future. Through this profile, postcolonial urban studies of the Global South must reconsider deepening empirical methods and theories in addressing this unique problem-space. A transformative and sustainable urban future of Wa remains counterproductive if postcolonial urban studies do not engage with unique paradigms of the Global South in understanding and planning cities of the South