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The mobility impaired and the built environment in Kumasi: structural obstacles and individual experiences

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Abstract

By ratifying several United Nations conventions and passing the Persons with Disability Act (2006), Ghana reiterated its commitment to protecting and promoting the welfare of the mobility impaired, by implication, creating a universally accessible built environment to enable them to live independent lifestyles and thereby achieve their full potential. This research extends the understanding of disability and geography through the analyses of surface topography and structural barriers, as well as the spatial experiences of the mobility impaired in terms of transportation, access and utilization of public spaces and general services in Kumasi, Ghana. Based on audits of the central business district and major hospitals, as well as questionnaires and face to face interviews with the mobility impaired and key officials, the paper found that, 10 years after the passage of the Act, the spatial needs of the mobility impaired have not been met. The CBD was characterized by intense disarray of minibuses and taxis, a beehive of trading activities on pavements and on the streets, and intense intermingling of vehicular and human traffic, all of which posed danger and impeded movements and access to public facilities. These obstacles, along with the absence of ramps, stairways and other safety measures in many parts of the CBD, mean that, the mobility impaired navigated the area with great difficulty. Similarly, none of the four major hospitals within the catchment area met all the minimum requirements of physical access and internal maneuverability for the mobility impaired. Interviews with a sample of the mobility impaired to explore emerging issues confirmed that accessibility and maneuverability in the CBD, along with the transportation system, still remained a serious challenge 10 years after passage of the Disability Act. The paper calls for some short term action, along with a long term strategy of building ret-fits, underpinned by revised building regulations and the Disability Act, built upon some extensions of research in the paper, to incorporate and enforce modern perspectives of the needs of the mobility impaired.

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Source: Author’s Photo (2016)

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Source: Physical Planning Department, KMA

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Source: Author’s Photo (2016)

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Source: Author’s Photo (2013)

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Source: Author’s Photo (2016)

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Justice Kufour Owusu-Ansah & Eric Oduro-Ofori

  2. Institute for Infrastructure Development (IID), Accra, Ghana

    Annie Baisie

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  1. Justice Kufour Owusu-Ansah
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Correspondence to Justice Kufour Owusu-Ansah.

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I declare that the authors have no potential conflicts of interest (financial or otherwise) in this research.

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I declare that ethical requirements were met in this research. The participants were duly informed about the nature and uses of the data collected, and they consented and participated voluntarily. The respondents below 18 were interviewed based on their consent and in the presence of their parents.

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Owusu-Ansah, J.K., Baisie, A. & Oduro-Ofori, E. The mobility impaired and the built environment in Kumasi: structural obstacles and individual experiences. GeoJournal 84, 1003–1020 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-018-9907-y

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