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Land use and urban travel in Kumasi, Ghana

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Abstract

Globally, transport literature indicates a strong effect of land use on urban travel as people living in low density suburban areas tend to travel more by car than people living in high density urban areas. This is because in dense areas, public transport is organised more efficiently and travellers tend to travel shorter distances. However, this assertion is frequently based on locations with efficient integration of transport within the land use planning framework. In Ghana and many African countries, it remains unknown whether the effect of land use on urban travel is strong as reported in developed countries and elsewhere. This research examines the effect of land use on urban travel in Ghana using Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana, as a case study. Simple questionnaire survey with urban residents, semi-structured interviews with agencies and secondary data analysis were used for this research. Results indicate negative effect of land use on urban travel as there has been increased congestion in all the major road arterials in the city resulting in difficulty in commuting using motorised transport. Findings further show a weak effect of land use on urban travel, as areas experiencing change of land use have poor locational accessibility. The paper recommends innovative ways of meeting the growing travel demand of residents in the city such as the development of a light rail and bus rapid transit systems to help ease congestion and improve public transportation.

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Fig. 1

Source Adapted from Department of Urban Roads (2015)

Fig. 2

Source Adapted from Poku-Boansi and Adarkwa (2011)

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Notes

  1. Not all travel is derived—see Mokhtarian et al. (2001).

  2. Planned here implies a situation where the Metropolitan Planning Authority has prepared and approved a planning scheme to guide the development of the area.

  3. Unplanned here implies a situation where there is no approved planning scheme to guide the development of the area by Metropolitan Planning Authority.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Michael Poku-Boansi & Patrick Brandful Cobbinah

  2. Institute for Land Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, P. O. Box 789, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia

    Patrick Brandful Cobbinah

Authors
  1. Michael Poku-Boansi
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  2. Patrick Brandful Cobbinah
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Correspondence to Michael Poku-Boansi.

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Poku-Boansi, M., Cobbinah, P.B. Land use and urban travel in Kumasi, Ghana. GeoJournal 83, 563–581 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-017-9786-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-017-9786-7

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