Water, Land, and Governance: Environmental Security in Dense Urban Areas in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

As the demographic shift to an urban society continues, there are often extreme limitations in the abilities of formal municipal governments to plan space, infrastructure, and resources. This leads to issues of large-scale unplanned habitations, extreme stress on environmental resources, uncontrolled sprawl, pollution, informal governance structures, and dangerous power conflicts. This chapter will use specific examples from Accra, Ghana and Kampala, Uganda to discuss Environmental Security in sub-Saharan Africa. Both these cities are mid-size cities experiencing rapid urbanization and both cities have a significant proportion of their population living in informal areas. Environmental security in dense urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa is intricately linked to the complex relationship between water, land, and governance.