Struggling for the right to be recognized : the informal settlement of Old Fadama, Accra, Ghana

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Academics and international development organizations generally maintain that the first step in addressing the complex challenges facing informal settlements is for the state to legally recognize the entire site (Gulyani and Bassett 2007; Amnesty International 2010; Datta 2012a). There is now a wealth of experience of participatory in situ subsequent upgrading, investing in skills and empowering those at the bottom to be involved in decisions that affect their lives (Archer 2012); World Bank 2008, 2013). Yet there is a paucity of case study material on what happens in a situation where the state and the slum community reach deadlock. In such instances, the state is not prepared to legally recognize the informal settlement nor to provide public assurances to residents that their properties and livelihoods will not be demolished. The slum dwellers, instead, live in a state of impermanence, with the fear of forced evictions hanging over them. Their futures within the city remain stalled and fixed in uncertainty. The sense of limbo and waiting is not only created by the state but also perpetuated, reinforcing the message of political subordination and marginalization (Ramakrishnan 2013, 2014). Drawing on community empowerment literature and focusing on the Old Fadama informal settlement within the heart of Accra, in Ghana, as a case study, the purpose of this chapter is to chart how slum dwellers sought ways to empower themselves and negotiate their right to stay.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGeographies of Forced Eviction: Dispossession, Violence, Resistance
EditorsKatherine Brickell, Melissa Fernandez Arrigoitia, Alexander Vasudevan
Place of PublicationU.K.
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages25-45
Number of pages21
ISBN (Electronic)9781137511270
ISBN (Print)9781137511263
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Keywords

  • Accra (Ghana)
  • empowerment
  • squatter settlements
  • urban poor

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Struggling for the right to be recognized : the informal settlement of Old Fadama, Accra, Ghana'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this