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The Real Estate Frontier

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  • Tom Gillespie

Abstract

Africa's major cities are experiencing dramatic transformation as a result of growing real estate investment. This article explores whether existing theories can explain the dynamics of urban redevelopment in an African context, and how African cases can inform new theorizations of real estate driven urban transformation. Examining the utility of theories of gentrification and speculative urbanism for understanding urban redevelopment in Accra, Ghana, it argues that urban redevelopment in this city has been shaped by its particular (post)colonial history of state land acquisition and urban planning. Rather than simply identifying empirical variation on established theories, however, the article draws on recent research on commodity frontiers to propose an original theorization of urban redevelopment in Accra in terms of the production of a ‘real estate frontier’. This real estate frontier is characterized by the incremental and contested commodification of state land to enable the growth of the real estate sector in the city. The article concludes by calling for a comparative research agenda to better understand real estate frontiers globally.

Suggested Citation

  • Tom Gillespie, 2020. "The Real Estate Frontier," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 599-616, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:44:y:2020:i:4:p:599-616
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.12900
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    1. Shin, Hyun Bang & Zhao, Yimin & Koh, Sin Yee, 2022. "The urbanising dynamics of global China: speculation, articulation, and translation in global capitalism," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117180, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Mohammed, Abubakar Sadiq & Abbas, Jannat & Dzimale, Augustine, 2023. "Navigating Land Acquisition Hurdles in Ghana’s Real Estate Development," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(12), pages 1084-1098, December.
    3. Richard Goulding & Adam Leaver & Jonathan Silver, 2023. "From homes to assets: Transcalar territorial networks and the financialization of build to rent in Greater Manchester," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(4), pages 828-849, June.
    4. Paula Meth & Tom Goodfellow & Alison Todes & Sarah Charlton, 2021. "Conceptualizing African Urban Peripheries," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(6), pages 985-1007, November.
    5. Jorn Koelemaij, 2022. "The world’s number 1 real estate development exporter? Assessing announced transnational projects from the United Arab Emirates between 2003–2014," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 54(2), pages 226-246, March.
    6. Carol Upadhya & Deeksha M Rao, 2023. "Dispossession without displacement: Producing property through slum redevelopment in Bengaluru, India," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(2), pages 428-444, March.
    7. J Miguel Kanai & Seth Schindler, 2022. "Infrastructure-led development and the peri-urban question: Furthering crossover comparisons," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(8), pages 1597-1617, June.

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