**6. Conclusions**

Urban blight is a relative concept that is perceived differently by various actors. While urban blight in the global north has been discussed largely from the point of view of its negativity in the broader scheme of city planning and infrastructure development [2,3], the case of East Legon and the global south depict a mixed scenario where urban blight serves a dual function. Whereas urban blight deteriorates the city landscape on a broader level, it also serves the function of promoting cultural heritage for families. More importantly, urban blight in the global south is more nuanced and demonstrates high relativity in what might be considered a blighted property, depending on perspective and purpose. As an emerging trend in developing countries, urban planners and city authorities, in pursuit of city gentrification, promote the development of ultra-modern edifices in native neighbourhoods, which often renders the existing buildings unfit by emerging and contemporary standards. Such induced urban blight not only redefines a criterion for development but, in so doing, opens up cultural homogeneity to heterogeneity and cosmopolitanism. Therefore, in the global south, maintaining a balance between the way of life of a people and emerging global trends of gentrification is essential as the majority of the population are economically vulnerable. It is thus important to identify the significant functions that so-called blighted properties perform within the city core and how such functions strengthen general standards of living and social cohesion. Recognising subtle positive functions in the context of southern cities is crucial in shaping the overall discourse on southern urbanism. The limitation to this study is that the customary land tenure for this study (family landholding type) may not apply to all areas. Customary practices are not a coherent set of stable rules that can be applied uniformly across communities but evolve within and vary across communities [7]. Thus, the influence of land tenure systems on blight may differ because of the pluralistic and varied land tenure systems and practices in the global south. For further studies, the results of this study can be extrapolated to other areas (either within Sub-Saharan Africa or any southern city) with different characteristics, since land tenure systems vary from place to place. Additionally, a study on the role of urban blight and neighbourhood governance in achieving a balance of value systems should be conducted.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, S.A.M., Z.A. and J.M.; methodology, S.A.M.; formal analysis, S.A.M.; investigations, S.A.M.; writing—original draft, S.A.M.; writing—review and editing, S.A.M., Z.A. and J.M.; supervision, Z.A. and J.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data was archived in University of Twente students database. This is private. However can be accessed with the link:\\UT152200\StudentData/mireku\_s6039510.

**Acknowledgments:** To the respondents during fieldwork: the experts for their time and sharing their in-depth knowledge, property owners and residents in East Legon.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **Appendix A Analytical Framework**

**Figure A1.** Analytical framework showing the research steps for the study.

#### **Appendix B Photograph Used for Photo-Elicitation during Fieldwork**

**Figure A2.** Views of both blighted and well-developed properties.
