scholarly journals Barriers to green cities development in developing countries: evidence from Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb Debrah ◽  
De-Graft Owusu-Manu ◽  
Ernest Kissi ◽  
Eric Oduro-Ofori ◽  
David John Edwards

PurposeOf late, cities across the globe are taking pragmatic steps towards addressing environmental, social and economic problems in the debate on sustainable development. Even so, little attention has been paid to studies focused on developing countries. The aim of this study is to examine the barriers to green cities development in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive literature review was conducted to examine the barriers to green cities development. In terms of methodological choice, a quantitative research strategy was used to collect data from professionals who have lines of influence on the greening of our cities and sustainable urban development.FindingsThe barriers to green city development identified were lack of awareness of the benefits of a green city, environmental degradation, insufficient policy implementation efforts, excessive generation of solid waste and poor wastewater collection and treatment. It was indicative from the study findings that taking the right sustainable steps in urban development and a paradigm shift towards the pillars of sustainability, Ghanaian cities, especially Kumasi, have a great proclivity of regaining its longstanding status being “Garden City”.Practical implicationsThe outcome of this study provides stakeholders in city development an insight into the barriers that inhibit the development of green cities. In practice, this study contributively proposes that the concept of green cities should be incorporated in the education and training of stakeholders to improve the level of awareness.Originality/valueThis paper presents the foremost comprehensive study appraising green city development in Ghana.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
De-Graft Owusu-Manu ◽  
Caleb Debrah ◽  
Eric Oduro-Ofori ◽  
David John Edwards ◽  
Prince Antwi-Afari

Purpose The advances in green city growth are widely discussed in extant literature. The benefits of green cities to urban development in recent discussions of sustainability and sustainable development are well documented and cannot be overemphasised. Although a growing study on green building development in developing countries has been advanced in literature, there is a paucity of studies that explore green cities in developing countries. Moreover, evidence of studies that have focussed on green cities development in Ghana is lacking. Because of this identified knowledge gap, the purpose of this study is to establish the indicators/attributes for measuring the level of greenness of cities in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the indicators/attributes for measuring the level of greenness of cities in developing countries. This study has adopted the pragmatism as its undergirding research philosophy and the deductive research approach. In terms of methodological choice, quantitative research strategy was used to collect data from experts in sustainable urban development. The primary data retrieved from this study was analysed using descriptive statistics, relative importance index and one-sample t-test. The reliability and validity of this study were measured with the Cronbach’s alpha test. Findings This study established eight indicators for measuring green city development: air quality, water, sanitation, land use, health and safety, transportation, energy and building and construction. It was discovered that the development of green cities should enhance air quality, improve water production and supply, improve management in sanitation, promote mixed and integrative land use, maintain the health and safety of city dwellers, reduce the demand for transportation and formalise public transport, adopt renewable and efficient energy technologies and promote sustainable construction and green buildings. These indicators are key to policymaking and implementation of green cities development. Research limitations/implications This study focusses primarily on Ghana; however, the findings of this study do not limit the generalisability, as it can be used as an example for other developing countries. Practical implications Theoretically, this study adopted quantitative indicators that are reproducible in another geographical context. This study contributively adds to the discourse on sustainability, especially in Ghana, and can be a source of reference to motivate others to conduct further research in related areas. The outcomes of this study will help the local government, policymakers, city stakeholders and industry expertise to gain insights of the overall indicators that underpin green city development. Originality/value This paper attempts to posit in literature the foremost appraisal of green city indicators adaptive in Ghana, which could motivate other developing countries to develop their own green cities.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb Debrah ◽  
De-Graft Owusu-Manu

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to guide green cities development in developing countries. The study adapted and validated indicators that can be adopted, to predict, estimate, depict and measure green city development in developing countries. In using a covariance-based structural equation model (CBSEM), the study developed a framework for green cities development in developing countries using Kumasi city (Ghana) as a case study. Design/methodology/approach To test the proposed framework, a quantitative methodology was used, in which, data was collected using research questionnaires that targeted a sample of 200 green city experts. In total, 154 useable questionnaires were retrieved, representing a response rate of 77%. The confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were adopted in a CBSEM. Findings The indices reported were indicative that the model/framework is a good fit for the data. This points to the direction that the model for measuring green city development was statistically significant and acceptable. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis revealed a robust fit of the indices, as they met the standardised cut-off points and as such the model fits the data. Practical implications This novel research is one of the few studies investigating green cities development in Ghana which could serve as a lesson for other developing countries. The proposed green city framework will serve as a guide to stakeholders in identifying the key indicators/factors that are critical to green city development in developing countries, especially Ghanaian cities. Originality/value This study proposed a green city framework to guide the development of green cities based on the local context of Ghana.


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh ◽  
Nurwati Badarulzaman ◽  
Mastura Jaafar

Today one of the important concerns of cities is growth by sustainable development. However sustainable urban development has been used in various forms and explained by various definitions, this subject is accompanied by uncertainty. New approaches in urban planning have attempted to achieve sustainable development. One of these is City Development Strategies (CDS), a new strategic planning approach that has been employed in more than 200 cities worldwide to achieve sustainable growth. However, CDS achieve different levels of success in sustainability. This paper takes the initiative to investigate the contribution of CDS toward sustainable urban development by looking for inclusion of principle of sustainable urban development in CDS themes. However CDS themes are various such as sustainable urban development definitions, therefore this inclusion is different. This paper highlights this relationship and inclusion for one the latest definition of CDS presented by Cities Alliance in 2006. This definition can succeed to achieve sustainability on some aspects, especially environmental and economic sustainability and fail to achieve some ones. This output is discussed in relation to CDS themes that have been applied in developing countries.


Author(s):  
Julia Rey-Perez ◽  
María Eugenia Siguencia Ávila

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology developed on the basis of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) notion applied for the city of Cuenca in Ecuador. The identification of cultural values – among all the actors involved in the city – draws up a series of sustainable urban development strategies. Design/methodology/approach This methodology is based on the city analysis from the local community and multiple disciplines such as geomorphology, environment, urban planning, historic cartography, architecture, archaeology, anthropology, and economy. Further qualitative data collection methods included 16 workshops with 168 citizens, specific surveys, mapping, and on-site observations. The challenge of this methodology is not only its implementation in the world heritage city of Cuenca in Ecuador, but also the integration of the management of the historic centre within the overall city development plan. Findings The application of the HUL concept has allowed the identification of a series of strategies for the urban development where the points of view coming from different stakeholders were gathered. The project reveals the existence of values and attributes, so far overlooked in the actual heritage management system. In addition, a Geographic Information System database has been created with all the information related to Cuenca with the possibility of making it available for the community in the future. Research limitations/implications The project has been developed within one year with scarce economic resources: that is the reason why the planned activities took longer than expected. Social implications Social participation has played a key role in the development of the project. Originality/value This research process in Cuenca has led to its incorporation as a Latin-American pilot city for a programme developed by the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harish Kumar ◽  
Manoj Kumar Singh ◽  
M.P. Gupta ◽  
Jitendra Madaan

Purpose This paper aims to identify the key factors to design efficient, healthy and potentially economical neighbourhood places in the surroundings of smart cities to reduce the urban polarization for the sustainable urban development. Design/methodology/approach A two-stage methodology is followed. First, the key factors for neighbourhood are identified from literature studies. The selected factors are validated by sample t-tests. Second, the total interpretive structural modeling is used to interpret the complexity of relationships among various factors. Further, cross-impact matrix multiplication is applied for classification analysis to find the most driving factors for neighbourhood design. Findings The contribution of this research is to show hierarchical relationships among the various factors to design the neighbourhood places as smart from the perspectives of city planners and decision makers. Research limitations/implications The applicability of the research findings is limited to developing countries mainly where population is large and most of cities have high pressure on its infrastructure to fulfil the citizens’ demands. Practical implications This paper will aid policymakers, city planners and government officials to design a sustainable smart city model in which smart neighbourhood would also be the potential solution to decrease pressure on a city’s critical infrastructure especially in developing countries. Social implications A smart city could be considered as the centre point of smart initiatives to develop a place smart, and it should continue beyond the city boundaries to enhance the facilities, services, resources utilization and working environment in neighbourhood places also. Originality/value The study explores the various literature on neighbourhood planning and then link with smart city development as current need of urban development scenario. The authors propose a hierarchical relation framework to develop the neighbourhood places as smart places to meet the future demand of urbanization in developing countries like India.


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh ◽  
Nurwati Badarulzaman ◽  
Mastura Jaafar

Today one of the important concerns of cities is growth by sustainable development. However sustainable urban development has been used in various forms and explained by various definitions, this subject is accompanied by uncertainty. New approaches in urban planning have attempted to achieve sustainable development. One of these is City Development Strategies (CDS), a new strategic planning approach that has been employed in more than 200 cities worldwide to achieve sustainable growth. However, CDS achieve different levels of success in sustainability. This paper takes the initiative to investigate the contribution of CDS toward sustainable urban development by looking for inclusion of principle of sustainable urban development in CDS themes. However CDS themes are various such as sustainable urban development definitions, therefore this inclusion is different. This paper highlights this relationship and inclusion for one the latest definition of CDS presented by Cities Alliance in 2006. This definition can succeed to achieve sustainability on some aspects, especially environmental and economic sustainability and fail to achieve some ones. This output is discussed in relation to CDS themes that have been applied in developing countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Rebecca Oberreiter

Rapidly changing framework conditions for city development such as globalization, demographic trends, deindustrialization, technological developments or the increasing urbanization as well as the economic, social and political changes are profound and change our urban life. This leads, that the cities of tomorrow will differ essentially from today´s city principles. Therefore innovative, strategically wise and quick action becomes a criterion for success. Here, more than ever, local conditions and requirements must be taken into account as well as global framework conditions. The responsible parties have to set the course so that the “City” remains competitive and sustainable in the future. Therefore, innovation processes and sustainable strategies for dealing with the diverse and complex agendas of a city in dialogue with those who are responsible for it must be initiated and management systems established so that new things can develop continuously and systematically. This work illustrates how the boundaries created to manage and market future liveable and sustainable city destinations are the root of the practical and academic problems that trouble city management these days.  This paper aims to develop the new integrated Smart Urban Profiling and Management model, which presents a new integrated approach for city marketing as an instrument of sustainable urban development. In this way, comprehensive research was conducted to evaluate if the holistic city marketing concept that integrates elements of smart city strategies and adaptive management is a more suitable instrument and integrative process than conventional city marketing in order to improve the sustainable urban development. Therefore, in this work, the designed “Smart Urban Profiling and Management model” for city management introduces an alternative and holistic perspective that allows transcending past boundaries and thus getting closer to the real complexities of managing city development in dynamic systems. The results offer the opportunity to recognize the city and consequently allow to developing successful strategies and implementation measures. This study targets to contribute to this endeavor in order to produce new impulses and incitements in the city management field and shall provide a fresh impetus for a new understanding of city marketing as the initiator of development processes, mobilization and moderator in concerning communication and participation processes. This paper is written from a perspective addressing those responsible for the city- management, city- & urban marketing and development.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Traouda ◽  
Panagiotis Mpogiatzidis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities and the growth prospects of medical tourism in Greece, while particularly focusing on the dialysis process. Patients with end-stage renal failure have the right to any treatment deemed necessary during their journey to another city or country away from the place where their treatment normally takes place. Design/methodology/approach The survey has been conducted among 193 kidney disease patients that underwent extra-renal dialysis in two public and three private artificial kidney units in Thessaloniki. The study population consists of patients with end-stage chronic renal failure (CRF) that undergo dialysis. For the purpose of this study, quantitative research was carried out via a structured and anonymous questionnaire. The design and structure of the study were based upon questionnaires from two relevant questionnaires. The questionnaires were modified appropriately to respond to the subject in question. Finally, for the analysis of the data, the SPSS software has been used. Findings One of the most obvious results is that patients on dialysis treatment have limited both the frequency and the duration of their vacation. The 8.3% of patients that did not use to travel increased to 37.8%, whereas only 22.3% continue to travel 2–4 times a year. Patients that keep on going on vacation frequently claim that a break from the daily routine improves their quality of life. Most of the participants (up to 36.3%) claim they feel healthier, while 34.2% stated they experience a normal life when they escape their everyday life and travel far from home. The 69.9% claim that Greece has the potentials to be a popular medical tourism destination. However, a well-structured and government-financed assistance programme is absent. The processing of data has revealed a positive correlation between age and tourism behaviour. Additionally, according to the research results, younger patients tend to be better informed regarding medical tourism in comparison with older ones. Social implications Considering the patients to be potential travellers facilitates the development, realization and promotion of medical tourism. Originality/value This study attempts to investigate, for the first time, the tourism behaviour of chronic kidney disease patients. The study highlights a sensitive issue, patients’ right to treatment without geographical or distance-related obstacles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kasim Randeree ◽  
Nadeem Ahmed

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine social sustainability effectiveness of eco-cities through the case of Masdar City’s strategy for urban sustainability in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach Using a case study approach, the paper is an exploratory, qualitative analysis, which investigates the social, environmental and economic performance of Masdar City, a purported carbon-neutral, zero-waste urban development. Findings Though Masdar City substantively contributes to innovation in sustainable urban development within environmental and economic contexts and has been effective in capital circulation in green technology markets, the impetus as a commercially driven enterprise is most evident. Successful sustainable urban development requires greater consideration for the social imperative. Practical implications Eco-city mega-projects, such as Masdar City, have the potential to fuse achievements in innovation, technology and economic enterprise with the social imperative of functional urban habitats. Originality/value Eco-cities are of increasing interest given the growing need for sustainable, energy-efficient living. This paper contributes through a novel case study, exploring how the concept of the eco-city has been developed and understood in the Masdar City context and discusses successes and deficits in its strategic implementation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-151
Author(s):  
Inggang Perwangsa Nuralam

Indonesia has many big cities with dynamic urbanization trend, increased economic growth and activities, rapid population growth, and dense populations such as Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Surabaya and Balikpapan. As a result, the complex activities of people in urban areas need space and these needs cause environmental degradation, such as the practice of throwing garbage that is not in place. To prevent this in the future, it is important for developing countries like Indonesia to have benchmarks. Benchmarks for developing countries can come from developed countries. So far inter-city development usually has partnerships with cities abroad, including the sister city concept. Sister city practices can be used by cities in Indonesia for the development of good practices. The collaboration of Surabaya (Indonesia) with Kitakyushu (Japan) focuses a lot on creating urban planning that is environmentally sound or commonly known as green city or eco-city.


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