Land Markets in African Cities: The Case of Peri-urban Accra, Ghana

TLDR

African city land markets feature multiple supply modes from various development stages, with customary tenure still significant yet its future widely disputed. The study examines how customary tenure and state involvement interact as Accra’s land shifts from agriculture to residential use. The market is complex, diverse, and fraught with uncertainty and disputes, and the cultural attachment to customary land suggests that a modified customary tenure system should be preserved.

Abstract

Land markets in African cities are characterised by the co-existence of different modes of supply that originate from the different stages of their development. Customary land tenure remains important in many of these cities, although its future is widely disputed. This paper discusses the implications of the co-existence of customary land tenure and state involvement in the land market in peri-urban Accra, where land is rapidly being converted from agricultural to residential use. The land market is shown to be complex and diverse, characterised by a high level of uncertainty and widespread disputes. The strong sense of cultural identity associated with customary land, and the difficulties of introducing major changes to land markets, however, point towards maintaining a modified form of customary land tenure.