Informal settlement and urban development discourse in the Global South: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

ABSTRACT The growth of informal settlements across the Global South has generated concomitant empirical research, and research attention has focused on a different aspect of informal settlements. However, despite the plethora of literature in the growing field of informal settlements research, there is a paucity of research concerning the contribution of informal settlement dwellers to the economic development of the urban economy, and the perception of informal settlement dwellers and their challenges, particularly in the context of many countries in Africa. The article contributes to fill this gap by examining the contribution of informal dwellers to urban economic development and the challenges they encounter in the process. Based on a case study involving in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in Accra, Ghana, the authors found that despite the challenges confronting informal dwellers and their characteristics, they contributed to urban development through revenue generation, labour provision, and the creation of employment. Furthermore, the findings uncovered context-specific contributions of informal settlements to urban development that helped both policy actors and practitioners. The authors conclude that the findings imply that urban managers should focus on the settlers and recognize the contributions of informal settlements to urban development.