**1. Introduction**

In recent decades, due to the increasing urbanisation and economic development, the demand for urban properties for various purposes, such as residential, commercial and industrial, has increased steadily. However, this increasing demand is hardly uniform across the city [1]. Prime urban areas are characterised by high property values, quality neighbourhoods and modernised developments. Nevertheless, some prime areas simultaneously experience urban blight in the form of vacant plots of land, abandoned structures, littered sites and degraded buildings, leading to the deterioration of cities in terms of physical beauty and functionality [2,3]. Urban blight is described by Weaver [4] as underinvestment in real property. This incidence of blight in the city presents an interesting dilemma where properties in prime areas, despite having grea<sup>t</sup> potential that can support useful developments, lie underused.

The phenomenon of urban blight dates back from cities in the global north, especially the United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), and Germany, among others, after the industrial revolution era in the 19th–20th centuries. The incidence of the industrial

**Citation:** Mireku, S.A.; Abubakari, Z.; Martinez, J. Dimensions of Urban Blight in Emerging Southern Cities: A Case Study of Accra-Ghana. *Sustainability* **2021**, *13*, 8399. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su13158399

Academic Editor: Pierfrancesco De Paola

Received: 4 June 2021 Accepted: 16 July 2021 Published: 28 July 2021

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**Copyright:** © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

revolution in the 19th century caused an urban population boom where people migrated to the urban cities due to employment in manufacturing industries [5,6]. The subsequent economic decline resulted in urban cities becoming economically vulnerable, with industries collapsing, businesses decreasing and people losing their jobs [6]. Ultimately, these cities experienced physical and functional stagnation as real property, mainly of a residential and commercial type, became obsolete, with high vacancy ratios and a decline in maintenance [3]. Although several studies have investigated the main causes of urban blight in the global north to be population loss, deindustrialisation, economic decline and sub-urbanisation, few of such studies exist in the global south, predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In SSA, land holdings and use practices are not separate entities from people and their belief systems but are constitutive and embedded in customary land tenure systems [7,8].

Different terminologies are used in describing cities' deterioration. For this study, the nuances of urban blight; urban decline, shrinkage and decay have been fostered into a mutual communication notion, "urban blight". This is because urban blight is a known concept in Ghana's urban land use policy. The current Land Use and Spatial Planning Act 2016 (Act 925) provides detailed descriptions of the criteria and the roles of the District Assemblies in tackling urban blight [9].

Specifically in Accra, Ghana's capital city, Appiahene-Gyamfi [10] argues that the city is knotted with cultural values; familistic, social lifestyles; and modernisation. While some stakeholders/actors attribute economic value to prime areas, others perceive urban spaces/properties differently, which do not match the modernised area [11,12]. Apparently, these unmatched properties, viewed as blight, are unevenly distributed within prime areas. While there is the possibility to leverage these blighted properties for the provision of modern housing or commercial development, some remain in the same conditions for many years for unknown reasons. Thus, the main question posed by this study is "*how can the existence of distributed pockets of urban blight in a prime area in Accra-Ghana be explained?*". The specific objectives are to determine the distribution of blighted properties in East Legon and ascertain the reasons from key stakeholders. This paper is structured as follows: Section 2 delves into the theoretical underpinnings and nuances of urban blight, as well as the perception of values attached to urban spaces. Section 3 describes the methodology. The results are presented in Section 4 and discussed in Section 5. Conclusions are drawn in Section 6.

#### **2. Urban Blight and Value Systems**

#### *2.1. The Phenomenon of Urban Blight*

The genesis of urban blight can be traced to the United States of America (USA). According to Gordon [3], use of the term occurred as early as 1918 in Philadelphia, where a planner described blight as an unbefitting district. This notwithstanding, different states in the USA fashioned their urban blight description based on peculiarities or uniqueness in their jurisdiction. For instance, Missouri state pronounced urban blight as overcrowding, inadequate light, ventilation and lack of sanitary facilities in an area, whereas New Jersey described urban blight to be abandoned industrial use; substandard, unsafe properties; and vacant lots. Additionally, California state added defective designs, either interior or exterior, to their urban blight description [3].

In the United Kingdom (UK), it was revealed by Haase et al. [13] that urban blight occurred in major commercial and industrial hub cities, such as Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow. These cities experienced a population decrease and economic decline caused by the collapse of well-patronised commercial activities and auxiliary industries. Subsequently, there was suburbanisation, leading to the abandonment of industrialised cities. Additionally, Germany's case was likened to that of the United Kingdom (UK), which also evolved in the 1980s [14,15]. There was out-migration and deindustrialisation, resulting in population changes in cities. Nevertheless, in other parts of Europe such as Poland and Romania, the cause of urban blight was quite different. According to Haase et al [13], urban blight in Poland and Romania resulted from a decline in the natural population change, high death rates and ageing of the population in the country.

From the global south perspective, however, existing literature reveals that in Latin American cities—Sao Paulo in Brazil and Guadalajara in Mexico—the causes of urban blight were similar to the global north. It was reported by Audirac et al. [16] that the causes of urban blight in these areas result from suburbanisation, deindustrialisation, and population loss. Similarly, in Africa, the most prominent cause of urban blight was the suburbanisation in South Africa in 1994. This was caused by a complex racial structure where a formerly white neighbourhood, Hillbrow, experienced an abandonment of houses by white people. Subsequently, the area was occupied by immigrants with low-income status who could not maintain the high standard of the area [17,18]. Furthermore, a study conducted by Reckien and Martinez-Fernandez [14] presented social factors to be the driving force for cities' blight in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region. The social factors given were hunger and epidemics like Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Nevertheless, no thorough explanations of the social factors were classified in their study. Many urban cities have issues relating to land use and development in Sub-Saharan Africa [19], ye<sup>t</sup> little knowledge exists regarding the emergence of urban blight. Urban blight is likened to the accelerated growth of urbanisation, which is primarily caused by a high birth rate in urban cities and rural-urban migration. Notably, most of these urban cities were previously indigenous settlements [20]. Although urbanisation is good and has resulted in modern land use and development in African cities, rapid urbanisation, on the other hand, has resulted in unsustainable development where high population growth is not matching the existing urban infrastructure, especially housing [21,22]. Subsequently, the inadequate housing infrastructure has triggered the development of illegal settlements, leading to poor neighbourhoods that lack social amenities like water, toilet facilities and garbage bins, among others [22]. Neighbourhoods that lack basic infrastructure and are in disorder are also regarded as urban blight [3,23,24].

In Ghana, the enforcement of land use policies and laws is tackled by the local government. However, according to Cobbinah and Aboagye [20], the local governments do not have complete control over the enforcement due to the role played by traditional authorities in regulating and managing customary lands. They further explained that there is an inadequate collaboration between local governments and traditional authorities. Additionally, the current Land Use and Spatial Planning Act 2016 (Act 925) specifies the criteria for District Assemblies determining blighted properties, irrespective of the land tenure system, as either customary or statutory. Therefore, these criteria, stipulated in Section 103 of Act 925, set the basis and measures for identifying blighted properties in this study. They include:

	- i. The existing or proposed use
	- ii. The spatial development framework and
	- iii. The structure or local plan,

As characterised by Act 925 [9], several commentators have also categorised urban blight from different perspectives. Such characterisation efforts enable a more global understanding of what urban blight could be, as well as the dynamics of its manifestation and nature. These are presented in the following section.

#### *2.2. The Nuances of Urban Blight*

There is a large body of literature on the deterioration of urban cities with diverse terminologies. The terminologies used in describing cities' deterioration differ from place to place, including the descriptions used by urban scholars such as city shrinkage, urban decay, urban decline, brownfields, or urban blight. However, whilst, on the one hand, Reckien and Martinez-Fernandez [14] assert that these terminologies may mean the same thing with regards to cities' physical characteristics and functioning, Haase et al. [25], on the other hand, argue that the emphasis and concepts of these terminologies are developed in diverse contexts, times, theoretical frameworks, and empirical backgrounds. Often, deterioration is studied at different geographical levels, either at the city or neighbourhood level. Urban blight is described in terms of real properties and/or urban spaces. Specifically, real properties consider the land and the buildings, while urban spaces are related to entire neighbourhood or city levels. According to Albers [26] in the history of urban planning, the changing attitudes of the population, which usually means the perspectives and priorities ranging between neglect and attention, affect the urban fabric, its beauty and landscape. Notably, this manifests in both the global north and south. In the global north, after the industrial revolution era, businesses declined and people lost their jobs. Subsequently, neighbourhoods became less attractive, experiencing physical and functional stagnation. Residences and commercial buildings have become obsolete, with high vacancy ratios and less maintenance culture by landlords due to low profits [1]. Livingston et al. [27] argue that there is a lack of inadequate effectiveness from local governments in satisfying the needs of such deteriorated neighbourhoods. Despite the level of deterioration, some residents may remain in the area as a result of low income. In the global south, on the other hand, Getis [21] argues that the deterioration of cities is partly due to rapid urbanisation. Inadequate housing infrastructure has triggered the development of unauthorised and illegal structures leading to poor neighbourhoods that lack basic social amenities such as water and toilet facilities [28]. Consequently, urban blight deteriorates cities' beauty and landscape [29,30]. The nuances of blight regarding different conditions, physical states, and uses and developments in urban settings, which are deemed contextual, are illustrated in Table 1.


**Table 1.** A summary of the nuances of urban blight.


Authors' construct (2019).

Urban transformation programmes such as urban renewal and regeneration have been developed to reduce urban blight [3]. In the 21st century, however, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework has been established by the United Nations to guide developmental efforts between the years 2015 to 2030 [35]. According to De Vries and Voß [36], a greater percentage of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is related to urban land, ye<sup>t</sup> contemporary land managemen<sup>t</sup> practices are fraught with issues of varied value systems. The level of utilisation of urban spaces thus differs regarding values, perceptions, priorities and reasoning [12]. The next section tackles the perception of values (economic, social and cultural) attached to urban spaces. While economic and social values are common in both the global north and south, in the global south, especially Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), socio-cultural values are embedded in the land tenure systems, which makes the property rights regime unique and different from that of the global north.

#### *2.3. The Perception of Values Attached to Urban Spaces*

Values attached to urban spaces are discussed in this study because the issues of urban blight may be influenced by varying priorities and perceptions by stakeholders/actors. According to Galster [37], the four main actors who make use of an area are households, property owners, business holders and the local government. The households use the neighbourhood through the occupation of residential units. Additionally, the surrounding environments, like recreational facilities, add some form of residential satisfaction and quality to the use of the neighbourhood. Business holders, on the other hand, occupy non-residential facilities ye<sup>t</sup> obtain some monetary value in the form of profit. As well as this, property owners occupy residential properties themselves or rent real property. Lastly, local governments mainly consume areas through tax revenues and provision of social amenities.

The explanations of the diverse values of the global north and south are described as follows: predominantly in the global north, the primary values attached to real properties are economic and social. Economic value is mainly associated with urban investment, where three of the aforementioned stakeholders of an area—business holders, local government and some of the property owners—make certain financial gains from the area. Somerville et al [38] emphasise that the economic structure of a country, real estate market, policies, and the level and nature of public goods and services determine the economic fabric of an area. Additionally, Galster [37] highlights that most of the residential neighbourhoods in the global north are established through large-scale construction. Nonetheless, the changes that occur afterwards are a result of how stakeholders attach value to the area. Hidalgo and Bernardo [39] therefore argue that the type and level of attachment placed on neighbourhoods and real properties differ in degrees and dimensions. When the level of social values exceed that of economic values, then the attractiveness of the neighbourhood and needs satisfaction are relatively assessed in comparison with other neighbourhoods by financially inclined stakeholders [40]. Ultimately, the decisions taken by wealthy actors affect the economic growth and development of the area, as well as the provision of public resources and services like recreational facilities by the local government. Others who

normally remain in deteriorated areas are those who attach social values to their urban spaces [41]. According to Scannell and Gifford [42], there are varied explanations for place and social attachment due to the cross-cutting nature of the notion in the fields of psychology, urban studies and environmental studies. In urban studies, however, place attachments are regarded as a strong emotional bond and sense of place that a group or an individual may have concerning a neighbourhood or a real property [41,42]. The social values, as inferred by researchers, are emotional bonds and affections developed over time in an area that results in strong networks and cohesion [42–44]. Additionally, Livingston et al. [41] and Johnston [44] agree that social value is a collective attachment to a place by homogenous people with common backgrounds. Instances of community attachment to places in the global north are native settlements such as Maori in New Zealand, Aboriginals in Australia, and Canadian and American Indians. These people believe their spaces are imbued with the spirit of their ancestors (spiritual identity), thus the need for heritage conservation. While the aforementioned assertion is not different for the global south, specifically in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), customary land tenure systems play a significant role, making up about ninety percent (90%) of landholdings in the region. As already mentioned, land holdings and use practices are not a separate entity from people and their belief systems but are constitutive and embedded in customary land tenure systems [7,8].

The conception of land in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is nuanced and transcends the physical land per se. As described by Elias [45], land in Africa belongs to the living, the dead and the unborn. Sometimes, land is seen as a deity and entity from which people derive spiritual identity. A study by Abubakari et al. [8] in the Upper East region of Ghana explicates such spiritual connections with land where the earth priest (Tendaana) pacifies and sanctifies land allocations and transfers. Under customary tenure, the right to use land in a particular manner is contingent on one's gender, birth order and position within the social group [8]. Essentially, land is not disconnected from people, but the two are conflated and hardly separable. The transcendence in the conception of land makes customary law and practices reflect the exigencies of specific communities, although there are commonalities as well [30,31]. Thus, customary practices are not a coherent set of stable rules that apply uniformly across communities but evolve within and vary across communities [7]. From a system perspective, the embodiment of customary rules can be likened to a complex adaptive system whereby the actors (members) and the system (customary system) itself evolve, adapt and shape each other in a constantly evolving manner [46–48]. Customary lands are not only characterised by a communality in the manner they are held, but they are also characterised by an evolved set of norms and practices. Such norms and practices define membership and associated rights of land use, restrictions and responsibilities. Members usually have usufructuary interests (superior rights) and are given portions for their usage and livelihoods such as farming but sometimes without rights of disposition [49]. Although urbanisation, modernisation and economic development have resulted in increasing demand for properties in urban areas, such trends are still somewhat influenced by the resilient customary rules and belief systems. Landowners within cities still hold on to their beliefs and practices because of the continuity and preservation of their culture. According to Arko-Adjei [46], customary land tenure systems are usually unwritten, ye<sup>t</sup> they are passed from one generation to another. In sum, the relationship between people with respect to land is governed by a continuously evolving set of rules, which are known within the social groups in which they are practiced. Distinct from statutory rules of tenure, customary rules of tenure are neither written nor consciously formulated at one point in time and are normally enforced within local circles. In the case of Ghana, where the constitution recognises customary law, this provides room for forum shopping and strategic choice making on the part of members [50].
