Speaker
Description
Amidst urbanization, land market dynamics have been the steering force of urban transformation in Ghana. In this study, we systematically review empirical literature to interrogate the underlying drivers, actors, and mechanisms shaping land speculation and large-scale land acquisitions in Ghana, and how these processes undermine efforts toward sustainable urban development. Anchored on three objectives: (1) to examine the major drivers, actors, and mechanisms underpinning land speculation and land grabbing in Ghana; (2) to assess the socio-spatial and environmental impacts of speculative and large-scale land acquisitions on urban sustainability in Ghana; and (3) to assess the sustainability paradox in Ghana’s urban transformation, the study draws on descriptive analyses and a thematic synthesis of peer-reviewed literature on Ghana’s land market. Consequently, the study identifies a recurring pattern of tenure manipulation, elite capture, informal negotiations, and weak institutional oversight that collectively institutionalize exclusion and spatial inequality. It also highlights how speculative behaviour, framed around state-led modernization and investment promotion, contributes to tenure insecurity, ecological degradation, and displacement, particularly in areas marked by customary land tenure and institutional hybridity. In the end, the findings reveal a persistent sustainability paradox where pro-growth urban development policies co-exist with deepening land-related vulnerabilities and fragmented planning frameworks. The study concludes by calling for coordinated statutory-customary governance, participatory spatial planning, and enforceable ecological safeguards for inclusive and sustainable futures in Ghana.
Keywords: Land speculation; Land grabbing; Land governance; Large-scale land acquisition; Urban sustainability