IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/intjhp/v26y2026i1p18-41.html

Meeting Ghana’s housing needs: ‘(un)affordable’ public housing in a rapidly urbanising context

Author

Listed:
  • Ernest Teye Ayumu
  • Austin Dziwornu Ablo
  • Bjørn Enge Bertelsen

Abstract

Rapid urbanisation has created critical infrastructure challenges in African cities. Housing supply in many African cities lags demand, rendering many people homeless and increasing the size and number of squatter communities. This paper explores the desirability and affordability of public housing in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. Drawing on Foucault’s governmentality approach, we explore how neoliberal policies have affected the role of government in housing provision. Based on a mixed-methods approach, triangulating surveys, and key informant interviews, the paper reveals, first, a strong desire for public housing among the populace primarily due to the inability of the private sector to meet the housing needs of middle to low-income people. Second, we also show how public housing, which is highly desired, nonetheless remains inaccessible due to politicisation and unaffordability.

Suggested Citation

  • Ernest Teye Ayumu & Austin Dziwornu Ablo & Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, 2026. "Meeting Ghana’s housing needs: ‘(un)affordable’ public housing in a rapidly urbanising context," International Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 18-41, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:intjhp:v:26:y:2026:i:1:p:18-41
    DOI: 10.1080/19491247.2024.2438266
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/19491247.2024.2438266
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/19491247.2024.2438266?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:intjhp:v:26:y:2026:i:1:p:18-41. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/REUJ20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.