Slum development: nature, uses and users

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Date
2016-10-18
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Abstract
This research sought to assess the nature (socio-economic and accommodation characteristics) of slums in the Accra Metropolitan Area. The target population for the research comprised all slum dwellers located in Ashaiman and Old Fadama and officials of the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA). The study was conducted with a quantitative method, executed through questionnaires, which are handed out to one hundred and fifty (150) respondents. Findings showed that most slums housing units are semi-permanent structures that are built from mostly wooden materials with aluminum roofings and other salvaged materials. Furthermore, the study shows that northerners form the majority of regional blocks of people dwelling the sampled slums. Also, the study shows that slums and slum dwellers in Ghana are marginalized and ostracized from the urban society. Lastly, the study shows that slum dwellers face such challenges as unavailability of a road network in the slums, unavailability of pipe-borne water, inaccessibility to stable electricity and poor sanitation amongst others. The study therefore recommends that government relocates slum dwellers into some form of affordable housing units to enable developers use their lands for other developmental agendas or intervenes in the provision of water, roads and electricity to augment the standard of living of slum dwellers and improve their daily lives. The study also recommends that government provides for slum dwellings schools and other educational facilities close to the slums so that children of slum dwellers can also have access to education so as to break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty. Lastly, the study recommends that government in league with financial institutions develop financial packages for slum dwellers in order to provide them with access to capital for small scale businesses.
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A thesis submitted to the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Development Policy and Planning, 2015
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