Humans are walking. Walking is essentially linked to our physical development from childhood and connects us with people and places. We can say this is crucial to our physical and mental health.
Walking can also help create inclusive and sustainable cities. Most Western cities incorporate this need into their spatial planning.
However, in an African country like Ghana, most people walk does not always mean the fact that they like. They need to walk because it is cheaper than using a motor vehicle. But many African cities are not friendly to pedestrians.
More than 70% of the urban population in Africa walks every day for various purposes. To address the challenges faced by pedestrians, some African cities have incorporated policies and strategies for walking their motorized transport policies. In Nigeria, for example, the Transport Authority of Lagos Metropolitan Area has developed a policy aimed at establishing a safe and pleasant sidewalk, greenway and other facilities for everyone in the city.
In Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), similar policies were formulated. The goal is to increase the number of people walking by investing in walking facilities and improving connectivity with public transportation.
The strategies in these documents are commendable, but they have faced practical challenges such as funding, public awareness, and technical competence.
Ghana also has several transport and local development planning policies. However, most urban areas in Ghana do not have walking infrastructure and a safe walking environment.
As scholars interested in sustainable urban development programs and policies, we reviewed some of these policies to explore how they view walking as a way of everywhere. The study also evaluates institutional perspectives and residents’ daily travel experiences in the capital Accra. We found that both policies and city plans are rarely focused on making the walking experience pleasant.
Read more: City Streets: Why South Africa should design more people-friendly spaces
Research
Ghana Transport Survey reports show that more than three-quarters (75.3%) of the country’s population travels ten hikes a day, with most urban areas lacking walking infrastructure. Pedestrians account for about 42% of Ghana’s road deaths.
We chose two research locations in the capital Accra, where many people came to find jobs. These locations represent inner city and suburbs. The study used in-depth and semi-structured interviews with 80 people capturing the perspectives of institutional representatives and community residents. We explore walking experiences to access, safety and enjoyment.
Discover
Accessibility: The National Transportation Policy is designed to provide dedicated, safe, reliable and appropriate facilities for users of all transport modes. However, we find a lack of infrastructure to enhance pedestrian access to facilities and services.
One resident commented:
Not only are the roads in a bad state, but there are no sidewalks. It is not difficult to assume that these are built for car owners, not for pedestrians’ daily use.
Safety: Research reveals the gap between policy ambitions and reality for walking at the community level. Municipal Development Programs do not say how they will address frequent crashes caused by competing in space competition commuters, suppliers and motorists. The most dangerous are pedestrians, accounting for 42% of the death toll related to transportation. This is because of the failure to comply with the regulations on road activities and pedestrian pathway activities.
A municipal official said:
Look at the street: motorists, street vendors, elementary school students in the same street space. There is a car that is occupied, recklessly driven, illegally parked on the shoulder of the road. Primary school students and people with disabilities face ongoing risks. But the program is designed to make the community walkable. As always.
enjoy: In national policies and municipal development plans, enjoyment is the least considered aspect of walking. This is clearly demonstrated by the lack of facilities and infrastructure to provide comfort, aesthetics and other fun for pedestrians.
A community leader complained:
Flooding and poor sanitation create an unpleasant walking environment. Streets and alleys are blocked along streets and alleys, poor drainage and garbage are a problem. There is nothing pleasant about walking: smell, dust, noise and heat. You walk because you have no choice.
Read more: New forms of urban planning that are emerging in Africa
Going to a walking city
In our study, the deep gap between what policy says and everyday experience requires new thinking and implementation in urban transport in Ghana’s development program system.
We recommend that transport planners, urban and development planners, and policy makers consider co-production strategies when determining, framing, developing and implementing interventions. This will help leverage the potential of walking as a social equalizer and its contribution to health, safety, equitable cities and communities.
Here, action-oriented collaborative strategies, such as workshops that view communities as partners, can transform African urban residents from captive walkers to those who like it.
This article is republished from the conversation, a non-profit independent news organization that brings you factual and trustworthy analysis to help you understand our complex world. It is by: Seth Asa University of Pittsburgh;Daniel Oviedo, UCL;Louis Kusi Frimpong, Environment and sustainable development ; Mariajose Nieto, UCL; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin UniversityStephen Leonard Mensah, University of Memphis
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Seth Asare Okyere received funding for Volvo Research and Education Foundations.
Daniel Oviedo received funding from University College and Volvo Research and Education Foundation.
Louis Kusi Frimpong received funding from the Volvo Research and Education Foundation (VREF) funding program
Mariajose Nieto receives funding from the Volvo Research and Education Foundation
Matthew Abunyewah and Stephen Leonard Mensah do not work, consult, own shares or shares of any company or organization that will benefit from this article, and have not disclosed any relevant affiliation outside their academic appointments.
