Peri-urbanization as “Quiet Encroachment” by the middle class. The case of P&T in Greater Accra

Abstract

ABSTRACT Informal settlements are often equated with slums emerging at urban fringes and inhabited by the poor. This article contributes to revising this common narrative by drawing on rich empirical material about the involvement of the middle class in constructing P&T, an informal, peri-urban settlement in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), Ghana. Drawing on the concept of “quiet encroachment”, it is shown that the non-collective and quiet practices of encroaching illegally onto State land is an ordinary practice of the middle class to acquire land for shelter in P&T. The middle class can draw on various practices and mechanisms to consolidate their “quiet encroachment”. It is argued that through such practices, the middle class shapes the processes of (informal) peri-urbanization in the GAMA. The article calls for further empirical studies on informal peri-urban settlements constructed by the middle class to deepen the understanding of inequalities embedded in (informal) peri-urbanization.