Thesis. 1979. M.Arch--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 100-102. / M.Arch

The purpose of the study is to substantiate and document the notion that, if government-sponsored housing is effectively integrated with the development plan, it can constitute an effective tool for socioeconomic development. The use of housing as an instrument for economic development is widely recognized by many developing countries, including Ghana. Since housing, urban and regional planning, constitute some of the elements of development planning, they can no more be allowed to operate in isolation than can any other major activity. Based on the findings of empirical studies and theoretical viewpoints, it is indicated that housing can contribute to worker productivity and external economies. In the first instance, it is noted that housing conditions certainly have some effect on health and longevity, hence productivity. In the latter case, some external economies can be reaped if, for example, resource development in a remote location is supported with housing to attract workers or to prevent wasteful commuting. Thus, housing can be used to positively influence the emerging geographic pattern of economic activities which itself determines, by and large, the new pattern of land use, population distribution, and functional organization of cities and settlements. It is pointed out that the question of implementing housing schemes should be concerned with how best to handle inevitable changes in the social environment in the early stages of economic development through proper planning. A case study of Israel is presented to illustrate that housing could be adapted to economic development by treating housing programs as some of the essential elements of the development plan. It is argued that the contribution of housing to the economic advancement of Israel, much as it is hard if not impossible to evaluate in isolation, cannot be dismissed as insignificant. The conscious manner in which housing programs are effectively integrated with development planning, it is pointed out, should serve as a lesson to other developing nations. Israel's experience demonstrates, and would seem to support, the notion that housing can be used to support agricultural developments, industrial activities, and even as an instrument for population dispersal calculated to foster economic development. Using several criteria based on the Israeli experience and against the background of development planning, the relation between government-sponsored housing and planning in Ghana is evaluated. It is discovered that mainly because the State Housing Corporation which builds most public projects operates without a guiding program related to other development programs, its activities are frequently in conflict with planning in an adverse manner. Again, for lack of programing, integrated decisions on housing for local, regional, or national purposes, are out of the question as far as the Corporation is concerned. An examination of the existing practical program of planning for Ghana reveals the prospect for effective integration of housing programs with development planning. It is concluded that the opportunity for utilizing government-sponsored housing for economic development will be more available, if the newly-created Housing Division and other relevant agencies are involved more in the planning process. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This dissertation is concerned with the appropriateness of the conventional urban land use segregation concept which separates people's residence from their place of work. The empirical research is focused on the creative processes by which households in four low income settlements in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana, integrate their economic survival strategies into the design and use of their housing. The study analyses the extent to which income, settlement type (i.e., informal or government built estates) and location (i.e., inner-city or periphery) have influenced the emergence of neighbourhood enterprises in four low-income settlements. It also examines the kinds of impact the enterprises have had on family income, employment generation, the use of housing space and the functional linkages of the enterprise with the urban economy. The study covered 1,289 enterprises in the four settlements dealing with informal and semi-formal activities; home-based and non home-based businesses; goods- and service-oriented activities; and enterprises which serviced the neighbourhood market and businesses with market outlets outside the city. The enterprises operated as family businesses functionally integrated into the day to day activities of the family. On average, each enterprise employed about three persons. About half of the employed persons surveyed were involved in neighbourhood enterprises. Women constituted 64 per cent of the total workforce and 63 per cent of the entrepreneurs. Higher concentration of the enterprises was observed in settlements with relatively lower income; those close to the city centre; and those with greater flexibility in development processes. Housing development processes manifested a gradual progression from mainly domestic land use to increasingly complex and integrated activities. In sum, the study revealed that although municipal policies pursue the goal of separating where people live and work, housing practices in the communities reflected an integration of residence and work. The study establishes that for the poor, a house is not just a shell but a place where people live, work and struggle for survival. Based on these findings and insights from the case studies and the literature review, the dissertation suggests that there may be a need for: (a) a shift from the conventional land use segregation planning concept to a more holistic perception of the urban system and the organic integration of its functions; and (b) an evolutionary housing and neighbourhood development approach which is culturally appropriate and economically supportive to the survival of the family. The study also suggests that since the problem of poor housing and infrastructure in these communities is primarily due to the question of unequal access to government resources, future improvements in the communities will depend largely on the residents' ability to organise into a strong political force that will lobby for increased municipal funding for the neighbourhoods. These suggestions will provide the framework for the implementation of an integrated neighbourhood development program in the communities focusing on housing improvements, low-cost infrastructure schemes and employment generation through strong local action and effective involvement of relevant actors in the private and public sectors. The dissertation concludes that the enterprises are thriving not only because they fulfil essential neighbourhood demands, but also because of benign neglect on the part of the elite groups who control the city. Although the evidence from the study suggests that the future survival of the neighbourhood enterprises is reasonably assured, their future economic advancement, depends largely on the support and disposition of the city authorities in Kumasi. Perhaps, if similar studies are undertaken in other cities in Ghana and the developing world, the trends noted in this dissertation may be generalised.

This dissertation is concerned with the appropriateness of the conventional urban land use segregation concept which separates people's residence from their place of work. The empirical research is focused on the creative processes by which households in four low income settlements in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana, integrate their economic survival strategies into the design and use of their housing. The study analyses the extent to which income, settlement type (i.e., informal or government built estates) and location (i.e., inner-city or periphery) have influenced the emergence of neighbourhood enterprises in four low-income settlements. It also examines the kinds of impact the enterprises have had on family income, employment generation, the use of housing space and the functional linkages of the enterprise with the urban economy. The study covered 1,289 enterprises in the four settlements dealing with informal and semi-formal activities; home-based and non home-based businesses; goods- and service-oriented activities; and enterprises which serviced the neighbourhood market and businesses with market outlets outside the city. The enterprises operated as family businesses functionally integrated into the day to day activities of the family. On average, each enterprise employed about three persons. About half of the employed persons surveyed were involved in neighbourhood enterprises. Women constituted 64 per cent of the total workforce and 63 per cent of the entrepreneurs. Higher concentration of the enterprises was observed in settlements with relatively lower income; those close to the city centre; and those with greater flexibility in development processes. Housing development processes manifested a gradual progression from mainly domestic land use to increasingly complex and integrated activities. In sum, the study revealed that although municipal policies pursue the goal of separating where people live and work, housing practices in the communities reflected an integration of residence and work. The study establishes that for the poor, a house is not just a shell but a place where people live, work and struggle for survival. Based on these findings and insights from the case studies and the literature review, the dissertation suggests that there may be a need for: (a) a shift from the conventional land use segregation planning concept to a more holistic perception of the urban system and the organic integration of its functions; and (b) an evolutionary housing and neighbourhood development approach which is culturally appropriate and economically supportive to the survival of the family. The study also suggests that since the problem of poor housing and infrastructure in these communities is primarily due to the question of unequal access to government resources, future improvements in the communities will depend largely on the residents' ability to organise into a strong political force that will lobby for increased municipal funding for the neighbourhoods. These suggestions will provide the framework for the implementation of an integrated neighbourhood development program in the communities focusing on housing improvements, low-cost infrastructure schemes and employment generation through strong local action and effective involvement of relevant actors in the private and public sectors. The dissertation concludes that the enterprises are thriving not only because they fulfil essential neighbourhood demands, but also because of benign neglect on the part of the elite groups who control the city. Although the evidence from the study suggests that the future survival of the neighbourhood enterprises is reasonably assured, their future economic advancement, depends largely on the support and disposition of the city authorities in Kumasi. Perhaps, if similar studies are undertaken in other cities in Ghana and the developing world, the trends noted in this dissertation may be generalised. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Provision of adequate housing in the urban areas of Ghana constitutes a major problem. In the Accra-Tema-Akosorabo Region of Ghana, the housing shortage is becoming more acute as a result of continuing population growth, which is due to natural increase; and to massive drift of population to the region because of the implementation of the Volta River project, and the industrialization of the region. It is the policy of the Ghana Government to provide houses to meet the needs of the inhabitants of the Acera-Tema-Akosorabo Region. The problem here is the determination of appropriate locations for the housing projects scheduled for the region, to aid in solving the housing problem, and to promote the balanced social and economic development of the region. Location of housing projects is critical in solving the housing shortage because location of housing projects influences: the size of project; the cost and quality of utility services; the cost of community services generally; and the cost of transportation. The location factors must be considered in the light of all other factors, such as place of work, with which housing location is interrelated. The search for a rational approach to the selection of location for housing projects leads to the study hypothesis: That the planned location of government-sponsored housing projects, as a solution to the housing problem in the Accra-Tema-Akosombo Region of Ghana, should be based on a comprehensive regional planning approach. The investigation of the comprehensive regional planning approach to the location of housing projects in the Accra-Tema-Akosombo Region is based on the assumptions that: the Ghana Government will continue to sponsor the provision of housing for all the inhabitants of the region; there will be no drastic changes or complete abandonment of the region's development programme; and that the housing needs of the urban dwellers are not to be considered as more urgent than those of the rural dwellers in the region. The study reveals that all the assumptions are valid. The Ghana Government's national policy of industrialization and urbanization as stated in the Seven-Year Development Plan (I963-I97O) is reviewed together with the regional development programme and plan for the Accra-Tema-Akosombo Region. These reviews shed light on both the national and the regional socio-economic development policies and programmes, of which housing is a part. Since very little has been written about the comprehensive regional planning approach to the location of housing projects, the concept underlying location of housing projects in the Durgapur Region of India is reviewed in order to throw light on the value of this concept. The conclusions drawn from the case study indicate that the process of selection of locations for housing projects is based on a comprehensive regional planning approach. The "Durgapur approach" provides the basis for relating the comprehensive regional planning approach to the location of housing projects in the Accra-Tema-Akosombo Region of Ghana. Criteria based on this approach are formulated for location of housing projects in the A.T.A. Region. A review of the three levels of planning, namely local, regional, and national, reveal that the comprehensive regional planning approach to the location of housing projects, in the Accra-Tema-Akosombo Region, is the most suitable approach. Despite the stated limitations, it is concluded that the regional approach would contribute to the rational selection of locations for housing projects in the regions of developing countries. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

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