The Future of our Cities

The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences devoted its conference in 1989 to the discussion of urbanisation in Ghana. Its verdict was a report calledThe Future of Our Cities. This essay reviews the future of Ghanaian cities as seen 19 years ago in that book and attempts an assessment of contemporary Ghanaian urbanisation, drawing on the literature on urban planning and on newspaper and radio commentaries. It is argued that although there have been some achievements in resourcing the police force, for example, waste is mismanaged, unemployment is high and traffic congestion is more pervasive than ever. Some proposals for mitigating these hardships are presented.