The production of flood vulnerability in Accra, Ghana: Re-thinking flooding and informal urbanisation

Clifford Amoako and Daniel Kweku Baah Inkoom
Additional contact information
Clifford Amoako: Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Daniel Kweku Baah Inkoom: Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Urban Studies, 2018, vol. 55, issue 13, 2903-2922

Abstract: To date, understandings of flood vulnerability in African cities have been conceptually and practically limited. A dominant focus on the geophysical and biophysical causes of flood events restricts the analyses to the source of flood events and does not pay critical attention to the internal actors, dynamics and processes of informal urbanisation where the burden of flood impacts usually fall. This paper challenges these analyses by approaching the problem of flood vulnerability through an understanding of informal urbanisation. The study is based on experiences from selected informal communities in Accra, Ghana. Drawing on mixed qualitative methods including community focus group discussions, hazard victims’ interviews and institutional consultations/surveys, the study reveals that flood vulnerability in informal settlements has co-evolved with the dynamics of informal urbanisation and dwelling processes. The paper therefore makes a case for a re-look at the epistemology and ontology of urban flooding in rapidly and informally urbanising areas in the Global South.

Keywords: Accra; flood management; flood vulnerability; informality; urbanisation; 阿克拉ã€; æ´ªæ°´ç®¡ç †ã€; 洪水脆弱性ã€; é žæ­£è§„æ€§ã€; 城市化 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098016686526 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:55:y:2018:i:13:p:2903-2922

DOI: 10.1177/0042098016686526

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Urban Studies from Urban Studies Journal Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().