Sustainable Urban Development and Land Use Management: Wa Municipality in Perspective, Ghana

Daniel Dambeebo,Chernor A Jalloh

doi:10.5539/jsd.v11n5p235

Abstract

Land use planning is one of the effective ways of achieving overall sustainable physical development especially, in urban areas. Various stakeholders in Ghana such as government agencies are therefore, responsible for the development and enforcement of national and local plans that specifies land areas for residential, industrial, transport and recreational facilities towards achieving sustainable development. Empirical literature within the Wa Municipality is not clear on weather enforcement and/or compliance pose as a challenge to sustainable urban development. The main objective of this study was therefore, to assess the physical development and land use planning guidelines in the Wa Municipality and analyse people compliance for sustainable land management. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 173 households in the Wa Municipality. Besides, heads of three institutions responsible for enforcing planning guidelines were interviewed. The results maintained that physical development planning guidelines are there to guide urban development in the Wa Municipality, but enforcement and effective compliance has been weak. Also, demographic and economic variables of the respondents as well as the lack of institutional capacity are the factors responsible for low levels of compliance. The non-compliance with planning guidelines contributes to haphazard physical development. This implies that the existence of clear planning guidelines is a necessary but not sufficient condition for sustainable urban land management. It is therefore, recommended that appropriate intervention through effective education for the general public as well as resource allocation to the enforcement institutions. This will facilitate the achievement of sustainable urban land management in the Wa Municipality.

Highlights

In many developing countries, cities have emerged as engines of economic growth by providing opportunities for education, employment, technological transfer and ready market for industrial goods (Rees, 1992)
In an attempt to cope with the effects of urbanisation, governments in both developed and developing countries adopt land use policies and strategies that are designed to mitigate the magnitude of urbanisation to manageable levels
The results revealed that some challenges confront institutions in enforcing compliance with physical development and planning guidelines in The Wa Municipality

Summary

Introduction

Cities have emerged as engines of economic growth by providing opportunities for education, employment, technological transfer and ready market for industrial goods (Rees, 1992). In an attempt to cope with the effects of urbanisation, governments in both developed and developing countries adopt land use policies and strategies that are designed to mitigate the magnitude of urbanisation to manageable levels. This is because urban planning plays an important role in increasing the capacity of cities to cope with population growth (Mutiara et al, 2008). Land use planning aims at achieving orderly physical development and strives towards evolving a functional and livable environment where individual and common goals can be achieved (Owei et al, 2010). The main occupations of the respondents include farming, trading, manufacturing/repairs and those serving in the public sector

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Methods

Conclusion