Trends, Taxonomy and the Future of Housing Research in Ghana: A Bibliometric–Thematic Study

Robust research in housing is a critical component to addressing the many housing challenges most developing cities face. In this study, we provide a comprehensive account of the evolving housing literature in Ghana based on an analysis of journal articles published in 19 top-tier housing, urban and real estate journals using bibliometric and thematic analyses. Of the 114 articles published in 1990–2019, this study shows that the literature is simultaneously increasing and diversifying. From 2011 onwards, research output grew by 6% on average. Studies on gated communities, mortgages, valuation, and homeownership are emerging. Both the keyword co-occurrence analysis and thematic analysis show a large share of the literature is related to topics on land markets and regulations and low-income housing conditions. Surprisingly, most contributors to the literature are at organisations outside of Ghana, and this has implications for policy formulation and implementation. We conclude with an outlook of potential extensions of the existing literature and “new” research areas.