Browsing by Author "Yakubu, Ibrahim"
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- ItemResidential mobility practices in low-income communities of Tamale, Ghana(2018-12) Yakubu, Ibrahim; Spocter, Manfred; Donaldson, Ronnie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Pro-poor housing research in cities of the global South tend to disproportionately focus on the profiling of stock deficits, inadequate quality housing and living conditions, illegal occupations, and the proliferation of informal housing developments. Very limited scholarly works have sought to understand housing practices and residential mobility dynamics in low-income housing systems. This study fills an important knowledge gap by investigating the socio-economic and cultural dynamics of residential mobility practices in the low-income communities of Tamale, Ghana. The study sets out to address four specific objectives, namely to formulate a typology of low-income housing and assess its influence on residential mobility practices; to investigate the underlying drivers of and motivations for residential mobility in low-income communities and to delineate residential mobility pathways; to examine the development strategies for and actions of the local state which influence residential mobility practices in low-income communities; and, finally, to analyse the implications of residential mobility for social exclusion in low-income communities. A mixed-methods research approach was adopted to address the research question. The approach draws heavily on pragmatism as an alternative philosophical framework to the traditional positivist, post-positivist and constructivist paradigms in social research. It offered a mutually illuminating framework for the collection of valid and reliable data for the study. Quantitative data was obtained in a survey of 395 households in nine low-income communities in Tamale. To enhance the heuristic value of the survey data, a diverse set of qualitative data was obtained from interviews conducted with individuals, households and officials of relevant government institutions. Behavioural theories of residential mobility, together with the rights to the city and housing pathway theories offered a broad-base foundation on which to foreground the study. These theories jointly offer a nuanced explanation of housing mobility practices in the pro-poor sector. It was found that the compound house form constitutes the dominant house type which uniquely accommodates low-income families in multihabitation. Compounds vary by size and material composition and by the kinship ties and tenure composition of residents. When using housing dissatisfaction as an incipient indicator of residential mobility, evidence from this research suggests that voluntary housing mobility practices do not have much to do with households’ dissatisfaction with observable features of the residential environments, despite poor housing and living conditions. Instead, residential mobility practices are partly rooted in the sanctity of sociocultural beliefs and practices which underlie housing consumption in the downstream sector. The study also found differences in the patterns of residential mobility exhibited by different ocio-economic groups in the housing system. This finding led to the delineation of a tripartite residential mobility pathway, namely pathway to homeownership; pathway out of homeownership; and a cyclical pathway in and out of rent-paying and rent-free tenancies. These pathways offer a focal lens with which to appreciate the agency of low-income families as well as the bundle of structural constraints under which relocation practices are exercised. Similarly, the incidence of forced residential mobility linked to processes of urban upgrading was very pronounced in Tamale. While this may be firmly rooted in colonial urban planning practices, it now manifests differently in the politics of pro-poor housing in the city. Pro-poor housing systems have come under constant threats of demolitions in the name of provision of access roads so that poor families are forced to relocate their housing even under an urban policy regime purported to support inclusive development. Grassroots local government structures are used in conjunction with the powers of traditional chieftaincies to facilitate housing demolition and forced eviction of low-income families in the name of providing access roads. By giving a detailed account of residential mobility practices in low-income communities of Tamale, this study contributes to the urban studies literature of the global South. The findings have broadened the scope and depth of knowledge in the field. It brings to the fore the everyday housing practices of the poor as well as the complex matrix of socio-economic and cultural factors which shape relocation decisions in the city. The findings also provide direct empirical evidence to support programmes and policies for pro-poor housing stability and inclusive urban development. As low-income communities become targets for urban redevelopment, the displacement effects of these programmes on pro-poor housing stability ought to be a matter of great concern for policy formulation. It is recommended that since the ideals of homeownership remain central to Ghana’s housing policy, fundamental aspects of the pathways to homeownership for the low-income population must be identified and enhanced by local authorities through proactive planning and controls. This will ensure that incremental house building by the poor is not only exercised within an acceptable framework for orderly physical development but also that homeownership by the poor does not become short lived due to threats or realities of housing demolitions and natural events. The findings of this study also open several avenues for future research on residential mobility. Hence, investigations are recommended to analyse the post-relocation experiences of households displaced by government development programmes.