The second city of Ghana is located in the Ashanti region with strong tribal identities and social structures.
Peri-urban areas are growing mainly by middle class encroachment, under a dual ‘customary’ legal system, displacing the land and livelihoods of many indigenes.
In this tropical rainforest location, climate-environment risks include flooding, water scarcity, extreme heat and wildfire.
SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT
Population city-region - 3.2m
Land area city-region - 254 km2
Density city-region - 12600 pp/km2
Population city-region change
Kumasi region
CLIMATE HAZARD
(World Bank data - https://thinkhazard.org – data for Ashanti province)
Extreme heat - medium
Wildfire - HIGH
Water scarcity - medium
River flood - HIGH
Urban flood - HIGH
Coastal flood - (no data)
Cyclone - (no data)
Tsunami - (no data)
Landslide - low
Earthquake - medium
Volcano - (no data)
VULNERABILITY
Economic type - lower middle-income
GDP /pp city-region - $2266 USD / $7360 PPP
HDI (national 2017) - 0.592
GOVERNANCE
(national level data)
Welfare regime (BTI) - 5.0
Control of corruption (SPI) - 4.5
Access to justice (WGI) - 9.1
RESOURCES
Reports and Policies
The Study on the Comprehensive Urban Development Plan for Greater Kumasi in the Republic of Ghana, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology And Innovation, Town and Country Planning Department
Description: comprehensive report including environmental issues
http://www.luspa.gov.gh/files/EIJR13206-Greater-Kumasi-01.pdf
Academic Articles
Cobbinah, Patrick Brandful, Asibey, Michael Osei, Opoku-Gyamfi, Marcia, & Peprah, Charles. (2019). Urban planning and climate change in Ghana. Journal of Urban Management, 8(2), 261-271.
Description: qualitative case study of Kumasi’s climate policies
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2019.02.002
Campion, Benjamin Betey, & Venzke, Jörg-Friedhelm. (2012). Rainfall variability, floods and adaptations of the urban poor to flooding in Kumasi, Ghana. Natural Hazards , 65(3), 1895-1911.
Description: flood adaptation measures in informal settlements
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11069-012-0452-6
Darkwah, Rhoda Mensah, Cobbinah, Patrick Brandful, & Anokye, Prince Aboagye. (2018). Contextualising urban resilience in Ghana: Local perspectives and experiences. Geoforum, 94, 12-23.
Description: qualitative case study of resilience for climate adaptation in Kumasi
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.05.023
Owusu-Ansah, J. K. (2015). The influences of land use and sanitation infrastructure on flooding in Kumasi, Ghana. GeoJournal, 81(4), 555-570.
Description: qualitative case study with recommendations for flood management
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-015-9636-4
Korah, Prosper Issahaku, & Cobbinah, Patrick Brandful. (2017). Juggling through Ghanaian urbanisation: Flood hazard mapping of Kumasi. GeoJournal, 82(6), 1195-1212.
Description: multi-criteria and spatial analysis of flood hazard zones
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-016-9746-7
Amoateng, P., Finlayson, C. M., Howard, J., & Wilson, B. (2018). A multi‐faceted analysis of annual flood incidences in Kumasi, Ghana. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 27, 105– 117.
Description: qualitative case study of flooding with future recommendations
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.09.044
Cobbinah, Patrick Brandful, Gaisie, Eric, Oppong-Yeboah, Nana Yaw, & Anim, Desmond Ofosu. (2020). Kumasi: Towards a sustainable and resilient cityscape. Cities, 97, 102567.
Description: development, resilience and sustainability