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<p>Peri-urbanisation in Ghana is reshaping the extent and quality of urban green spaces, yet governance drivers outside major metropolitan cores remain understudied. Using Jaman South Municipality (JSM) as a case, this study applies an urban-ecology lens, and a mixed-methods design to quantify land-cover change and encroachment risk across parks among others. Primary sources of data, including key-informant interviews, focus-group discussions, field observations, and photographs were triangulated with multi-temporal Landsat imagery (2002–2022) classified in ArcGIS 10.8 to quantify land-cover change and appraise availability, condition, and encroachment risk across parks, school fields, cemeteries, riparian buffers, and reserve lots. Green-space cover declined from approximately 98% in 2002 to 73% in 2022, while built-up areas expanded from 14.8 km<sup>2</sup> (2%) to 199.8 km<sup>2</sup> (27%). Respondents linked losses to uneven enforcement of planning schemes, unresolved customary land disputes, political interference, limited maintenance regimes, and low public awareness. These factors produced a persistent policy–practice gap. Although building permits, spatial plans, and environmental screening are a requirement, they are inconsistently applied because responsible agencies are under-resourced. Urbanisation is the headline driver cum pressure, but governance remains the proximate lever for change. The study proposes practical measures viz a public, GIS-based register of municipal green assets (size, ownership, condition, encroachment risk) and strict protection of 100-m riparian buffers. Additionally, the study proposes community training led by Departments of Agriculture, NGOs, and Departments of Parks and Gardens on heat-island and flood-risk reduction as well as logistics, vehicles, and skilled staff to sustain enforcement and routine maintenance. Drawing on two decades of geospatial evidence with institutional and community insights, this study shifts from a narrow urbanisation debate to practical, inclusive-focused urban-ecology governance for peri-urban Ghana.</p>

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Urbanisation and green space management in peri-urban Ghana: mapping patterns and stakeholder perspectives

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月29日

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  • Henry Mensah,
  • Sule Rafiyan,
  • Eric Kwame Simpeh,
  • Kenneth Bedu-Addo

摘要

Peri-urbanisation in Ghana is reshaping the extent and quality of urban green spaces, yet governance drivers outside major metropolitan cores remain understudied. Using Jaman South Municipality (JSM) as a case, this study applies an urban-ecology lens, and a mixed-methods design to quantify land-cover change and encroachment risk across parks among others. Primary sources of data, including key-informant interviews, focus-group discussions, field observations, and photographs were triangulated with multi-temporal Landsat imagery (2002–2022) classified in ArcGIS 10.8 to quantify land-cover change and appraise availability, condition, and encroachment risk across parks, school fields, cemeteries, riparian buffers, and reserve lots. Green-space cover declined from approximately 98% in 2002 to 73% in 2022, while built-up areas expanded from 14.8 km2 (2%) to 199.8 km2 (27%). Respondents linked losses to uneven enforcement of planning schemes, unresolved customary land disputes, political interference, limited maintenance regimes, and low public awareness. These factors produced a persistent policy–practice gap. Although building permits, spatial plans, and environmental screening are a requirement, they are inconsistently applied because responsible agencies are under-resourced. Urbanisation is the headline driver cum pressure, but governance remains the proximate lever for change. The study proposes practical measures viz a public, GIS-based register of municipal green assets (size, ownership, condition, encroachment risk) and strict protection of 100-m riparian buffers. Additionally, the study proposes community training led by Departments of Agriculture, NGOs, and Departments of Parks and Gardens on heat-island and flood-risk reduction as well as logistics, vehicles, and skilled staff to sustain enforcement and routine maintenance. Drawing on two decades of geospatial evidence with institutional and community insights, this study shifts from a narrow urbanisation debate to practical, inclusive-focused urban-ecology governance for peri-urban Ghana.