Reflections on the Absence of Squatter Settlements in West African Cities: The Case of Kumasi, Ghana

Squatter and spontaneous settlements may have acquired the dubious honour of topping the litany of ills and malformations which are often listed as characterising Third World cities. Almost all the literature on Third World urbanisation and housing appears to present the view that the development of squatter settlements has become an inevitable aspect of Third World urban development and that it constitutes the poor urbanites' response to problems of accommodation shortage, high rents and land acquisition. This paper raises several issues regarding blanket statements on, and stereotyping of, Third World cities. It argues that the so-called squatter settlements which the literature often portrays as characterising Third World cities may not be true of anglophone West African cities. The case of Kumasi, Ghana has been examined with reference to the reasons adduced by Peil to explain the absence of squatter settlements in West Africa. It points out that the reasons offered by Peil may not be tenable in the case of Kumasi, but instead suggests that people's attitude to traditions, customs and beliefs regarding land ownership and the role of the spirits of dead ancestors in the affairs of the living may in effect be safeguarding the city against the development of squatter settlements.