Patrick Brandful Cobbinah- PhD
- Associate Professor - Urban Planning at University of Melbourne
Patrick Brandful Cobbinah
- PhD
- Associate Professor - Urban Planning at University of Melbourne
About
134
Publications
148,260
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
4,842
Citations
Introduction
Patrick holds a PhD in Human Geography (Regional Planning and Resource Conservation) from Charles Sturt University, Australia and BSc (hons) in human settlement planning from the KNUST, Ghana.His research is focused on sustainable development and urban and regional planning, and environmental conservation. He has collaborated on several international projects with Australian and Ghanaian universities.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
July 2019 - present
December 2016 - June 2019
June 2015 - present
Position
- Sessional lecturer
Description
- Instructor for Principles of Ecotourism subject
Education
June 2011 - June 2014
August 2005 - May 2009
Publications
Publications (134)
Africa is set to drive future global urbanization, yet the evolution of its urban systems remains underexplored. Here we show this evolution during 1950–2020 using three urban system rules based on a unified urban definition across the African continent. Zipf’s law quantified increasing population concentration in large cities, leading to a shift f...
The term poverty has been described in different ways throughout the world due to its multidimensional nature. Whereas some countries and geographical regions view poverty as deprivation, others are concerned with social exclusion and inequality in resource distribution. Despite the differences in poverty interpretations, many countries in the deve...
Street vending is an important source of livelihood for many urban dwellersin Africa but remains a challenge for urban policy and planning. This paperuses Ghana as a case study to examine how street vending is treated in urbanpolicy frameworks. We use qualitative content analysis to critically reviewfour major urban policies that shape the planning...
Sub-Saharan African cities have experienced significant spatial transformation in recent years. This transformation, in part, has been characterised by the proliferation of new cities and the privatisa-tion of urban spaces. Yet, an understanding of how the growing trend of privatised urbanism is producing marginalisation and exclusion hurdles for t...
The burgeoning unplanned urbanisation and growing environmental risks across global South cities pose core
questions to urban sustainability, planning theory and practice. Who are the agents of, and what are the control
mechanisms in spatial plan preparation? To what extent are economic, social, and environmental sustainability
principles consid...
Africa is positioned in the eye of the climate storm, yet its cities remain the least prepared in terms of responding and adapting to the impacts of climate change. Similarly, the future of its urban green infrastructure (UGI) is under severe threat with rapid unplanned urbanization becoming ubiquitous across African cities. The colliding force of...
This article advances an understanding of urban regeneration shaped by accumulation by dispossession theory. Using available urban regeneration scholarship, we examine the framings and outcomes of urban regeneration projects and community responses. This analysis contributes to understanding urban regeneration thinking in global South cities, and t...
Africa is predicted to be the fastest urbanizing continent over the next century, with its primary and secondary cities expected to experience rapid growth. On the continent, over 70 percent of daily trips are made by walking. Yet, pedestrian-friendly city spaces remain underexplored in research on Africa as city planning regimes continue a long-es...
This book analyses urban planning in Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone Africa, exploring its history and advocating for new approaches. In a climate-changing world, cities need to be reimagined and designed to be more sustainable. But despite being one of the fastest urbanising continents, Africa has generally weak urban planning systems. The c...
This book analyses urban planning in Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone Africa, exploring its history and advocating for new approaches. In a climate changing world, cities need to be reimagined and designed to be more sustainable, but despite being one of the fastest urbanising continents, Africa has generally weak urban planning systems. The...
This book analyses urban planning in Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone Africa, exploring its history and advocating for new approaches. In a climate changing world, cities need to be reimagined and designed to be more sustainable, but despite being one of the fastest urbanising continents, Africa has generally weak urban planning systems. The...
This book analyses urban planning in Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone Africa, exploring its history and advocating for new approaches. In a climate changing world, cities need to be reimagined and designed to be more sustainable, but despite being one of the fastest urbanising continents, Africa has generally weak urban planning systems. The...
This book analyses urban planning in Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone Africa, exploring its history and advocating for new approaches. In a climate changing world, cities need to be reimagined and designed to be more sustainable, but despite being one of the fastest urbanising continents, Africa has generally weak urban planning systems. The...
While research on new cities is emerging across African cities, focusing on housing, infrastructure, and service provision, little is known about walking accessibility for residents within and outside these new cities. Using the national capital of Ghana as a case study, the purpose of this paper is twofold: (a) it measures walking accessibility wi...
his paper inquires: can sustainable urbanization be realized in Saudi Arabian cities? It addresses this question by (i) analyzing the relationship between sustainable development and urbanization in the Global South, (ii) examining the urbanization–urban planning collision in Saudi Arabian cities, and (iii) assessing the situational impediments to...
Informality has become central to urban sustainability and one of the most polemically debated topics in modern urban studies and human geography. Finn's analysis intends to bring critical geo-historical colonial research to this debate and remains an important contribution. In this essay, my main argument – which expands on Finn's work – is that i...
Using the Bui basin of Ghana as a case study, this study analyses the impact of hydro-electric dam construction on water health and yielding capacity of aquatic ecosystems. The study utilised remote sensing and GIS techniques as well as the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-Offs (InVEST) water yield model and Indicator of Hydrolo...
Many cities seek urban green infrastructure to improve their liveability amid rapid urbanisation and climate change. The changes brought by urban green infrastructure are often reflected in socioeconomic growth and environmental health. Yet, the development agendas of many cities, especially in Africa, do not always reflect the benefits of urban gr...
Despite the critical need for urban planners to address climate change, there is a limited understanding of planning professionals’ perceptions of their climate change competency. This paper reports results from a survey of Australian urban planning professionals, identifying their perceived climate change knowledge, skills, competencies, and every...
Current conceptualizations of nature-based solutions have so far served to characterize-and reproduce-cost-effective remedies, particularly in cities of the global north. Yet nature-based solutions (NbS) are fundamental to the production of urban resilience. Focusing on Ghana's second largest city, Kumasi, this research (i) examines climate literac...
This paper explores reasons for unproductive urban flood management agendas in informal settlements. Does geography of informal settlements inform city-led flood management agendas? And in what ways have residents of informal settlements responded to city-led flood management approaches? The paper argues that the supposed city managers – both state...
Discourses on climate change often characterise African cities as homogenous, experiencing the same climate events and requiring the same planning solutions. However, African cities are diverse and different across regions, scales, and contexts, despite some resemblance of urban problems. This paper addresses the generalisation of climate change is...
Garden cities evoke images of urban living immersed in urban green infrastructure (UGI). Such was the situation in Kumasi, a Ghanaian city modeled on Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City philosophy. Between 1991 and 2019, the city lost over 80% of its UGI. While research frequently identifies institutional management failures as a foundational cause of th...
As rapid urbanization becomes a key topic within urban studies and planning particularly in the Global South, it needs to be considered what radical implications to urban environment mean. Reviewing literature on urbanization and its implications on urban environment from within the Global South and on sustainable development research and environme...
The proliferation of informal settlements and growing risks of climate change across African cities pose core questions to urban planning theory and practice. Where do informal settlements fit into future climate adaptation plans? What constitutes a 'just' climate transformation for African urbanization? And how does a 'just' climate transformation...
Urban Green Spaces (UGS) contribute to the functioning of a city´s urban (eco)system. With the rapid urban expansion and the emergence of new slums, there is the need to include the residents in protecting UGS.
Africa contributes the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it faces climate change's harshest consequences. Ramifications of climate change pose daunting multi-scalar urban challenges, specifically because urbanisation across most African countries is embedded in, linked to and defined by various notions of informality. However, there is...
This chapter analyzes global climate change impacts discussing the major climate events and the efficacy of global responses. Global commitments have highlighted the need to intensify efforts toward minimizing global GHG emissions, while building resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts. This chapter demonstrates that cities, particularl...
This paper uses spatial statistical techniques to reflect on geographies of COVID-19 infections in metropolitan Melbourne. We argue that the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has become widespread since early 2020 in Melbourne, typically proceeds through multiple built environment attributes – diversity, destination accessibility, distance...
The growing assumption in urban studies literature is that the urban poor remain vulnerable to climate change impacts yet excluded from planning interventions and their formation. However, at present, there is dearth of research examining the adaptation practices by the urban poor in African cities. Focusing on Ghana's capital, Accra, the purpose o...
This paper compares everyday land administration systems and local planning practices involving traditional authorities and local statutory planning officials in the transformation of peri-urban areas in Ghana. First, it analyses the processes and conflicts in local plan preparation for peri-urban transformation. Second, it examines the power relat...
The world is experiencing the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic – from lockdown restrictions to economic uncertainty. Though troubling, the COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity to galvanize support to strengthen urban planning's capacity in Africa. This paper draws on the global response to the pandemic to proffer three lessons that can bolster plann...
Urbanization is threatening wetlands that provide multiple ecosystem services essential for urban functionality across African cities. With large urban agglomerations characterized by rapid and uncontrolled urban development , wetlands in African cities are under intense pressure of extinction. Yet, research exploring their urban planning implicati...
With ongoing sustainable development challenges confronting African countries despite increasing global commitment towards sustainable futures, it is important not to overly focus on the problems of urban development but highlight the opportunities available and how they can be harnessed for development. The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrat...
The purpose of this study is threefold: (i) to analyse local perceptions on climate change and events; (ii) to examine the impact of climate change on local livelihoods and food security; and (iii) to explore climate change adaptive responses and challenges thereof. Using the Dormaa West District in Ghana as a case study, data were obtained from 19...
African cities, faced with rapid urbanization and haphazard land use practices, struggle to address their fast-declining urban green space (UGS). Yet the spatial extent of UGS, and the influence of city planning legislation and frameworks, remains largely unexplored. Using a case study of Kumasi, Ghana, this study draws on mixed methods to address...
The growing assumption in urban studies literature is that residents of slum communities struggle to find space to live but not a place to recreate and enjoy green space. However, at present no research has explored slum res-idents' perspectives and attitudes towards urban green spaces. The purpose of this study is threefold: (i) to establish a spa...
In this era of rapid urbanisation across Africa, an understanding of the role of culture in advancing urban planning and development is important for effective urban management, especially in Africa where the culture of informality is dominant. Yet, there is a dearth of research on the relationship between informal culture and urban planning in Afr...
Past and ongoing research shows that African cities remain one of the vulnerable zones of climate change, yet the least prepared. With an expected increase in climate change impacts coupled with rapid urbanization in African cities, this paper inquires: what if more attention is devoted to urban planning in the efforts towards addressing climate ch...
Global commitments reflected in the UN SDGs, the NUA and the Africa Urban Agenda 2063 bring to the fore the challenges facing twenty-first century cities in their sustainable development efforts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Yet are African cities prepared to respond to global shocks and stresses? Do African cities consider resilience...
Global literature reporting on land governance indicates considerable differences between land ownership and land administration. Yet, in many Sub-Saharan African countries, particularly Ghana, this relationship is blurred in complex land governance regimes. An understanding of this relationship in Ghana's customary land sector-the dominant land ow...
The profession of urban planning contributes to the design and spatial arrangement of cities, and has been recognized as a key potential facilitator of action on climate change. Yet, there has been limited research to understand if, or how, urban planning students are being educated for climate change competency. This paper investigates the coverag...
The prevalence of urban poverty and its spatial manifestations have been thoroughly discussed in the academic literature. This paper contributes to that ongoing discussion, by unpacking that geographies of poverty in Kumasi, a rapidly growing African city. It analyses the spatial patterns and changing concentrations of poverty over the last five ye...
The COVID-19 pandemic raises questions about the effectiveness of urban planning practice in Africa and offers an opportunity to reflect on more constructive protocols for planning that can promote the public health agenda in the continent. This commentary analyzes three critical areas of urban planning concern that limit the capacity of cities in...
While housing research in the developed world illustrates rental information channels, little is known about the situation in developing countries. This study examines the channels of information that are used in the private rental housing market by renters using Kumasi metropolis in Ghana as a case study. Using qualitative research methods involvi...
This paper presents a set of four derived attributes that define and operationalize the concept of ecotourism. Using these four attributes, data collection focused on interviews with officials and tour operators from 25 ecotourism agencies in Ghana, and analysis of six most recent and relevant national tourism documents to determine how congruent t...
For years, flood vulnerability management in Accra, the capital of Ghana, has been limited to demolition of affected buildings, forced eviction of flood victims or distribution of relieve items. While such approaches have either been resisted or condemned by affected households, state and city authorities have defended them as the most appropriate...
Worldwide, there is increasing acknowledgement of the dangers of improper human waste management, particularly open defecation, on the environment and human wellbeing. With about 85.7% of Ghana's population without access to decent toilet facilities as of 2017, Ghana ranks highly in the world among countries with poor human waste management practic...
Kumasi is the administrative capital of the Ashanti Region of, and the second largest city in, Ghana. The city also remains the seat of the traditional Asante Kingdom with its establishment around the late 17th century. It was given the accolade the 'Garden City of West Africa' in the 1940s due to its greenery cityscape. Over the years, Kumasi's de...
With recent and expected record-breaking urban population growth in developing countries, African cities ought to undertake or revisit sustainable planning efforts necessary for managing population growth and dealing with rapid urbanization. This chapter examines how African cities are responding and adapting to rapid population growth in the area...
While research in the developed world has shown that aspirations for home-ownership are influenced in part by negative experiences in the private rented sector, little is known about the situation in developing countries. To address this gap, this article presents a situational analysis of renters and how their current tenure situations shape their...
Literature is replete with information indicating that the roles, status and positions of men and women in society have evolved significantly over the years. Yet, there is a little understanding of how such changes have occurred in homeownership attainment in developing countries where there is male dominance. Using Ghana as a case study, this stud...
Recognition of the importance of land access in mining resettlement communities in the context of sustainable development discourse in many African countries has not necessarily been translated into practice. This paper describes the livelihood challenges and sustainable development implications of a mining-induced resettlement programme in Ghana w...
Accra, the capital of Ghana, has been experiencing severe flood events since 1939, with the most affected often being the people living in vulnerable communities. Unfortunately, the flood management regimes by state agencies have been limited to weak urban planning response in terms of demolition exercises, forced evictions or distribution of relie...
This paper examines gentrification and redevelopment in the context of an ongoing phenomenon of changing traditional residential land uses into modern multi-purpose commercial and mixed uses in the Central Business District (CBD) of Kumasi, Ghana. The paper explores the implications of such changes towards understandings of gentrification and redev...
Urban planning is commonly blamed for its failure to exert a positive influence on managing climate change impacts in urban Africa; yet little is known about planning agencies' perspectives on climate change-urban planning conundrum, and corresponding policy responses. It is in response to this gap, this paper explores agency perspectives and polic...
Climate change and associated manifestations are creating significant stress in many parts of the world. Increased climate variability especially altered temperature and rainfall patterns, is predicted to be one of the major factors to aggravate the everyday shocks and stressors facing Africa’s growing poor urban populations. Consequently, respondi...
Global responses to climate change are skewed towards reducing greenhouse gases, despite considerable research emphasizing adaptation. This chapter situates spatial planning in the Ghanaian climate change adaptation discourse by reviewing the centrality of climate adaptation in medium term development plans. Findings indicate that although climate...
Climate change is a global phenomenon, yet its impacts are more localized in vulnerable and poor regions. This chapter finds answers to how urban residents in a Ghanaian city of Tamale have been responding locally to the adverse effects of climate change. Four suburbs were studied using in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions for the data...
This book take a comprehensive look at several cases of climate change adaptation responses across various sectors and geographical areas in urban Africa and places them within a solid theoretical context. Each chapter is a state-of-the-art overview of a significant topic on climate change adaptation in urban Africa and is written by a leading expe...
Climate change presents urban areas in Africa with significant challenges relating to adaptation to dynamic climate risks and protection of critical infrastructure systems and residents’ livelihoods. This chapter argues for the need to adopt multidisciplinary approaches, perspectives and theoretical frameworks that espouse the transformations of cl...
Traditionally, urbanization is hailed as an important force for socioeconomic development of countries. In fact, recent research on Africa suggests that urbanization has the potential to stimulate socioeconomic development. Yet, many African countries experiencing rapid urban growth continue to bear a disproportionate amount of the costs associated...
Climate change and unplanned urban growth remain two emerging environmental and health threats with widespread implications for poor countries. Yet, despite attempts by governments and international organisations at addressing these challenges, they remain unabated. Understanding the challenges through a resilience lens can support actions for addr...
Urbanization, in theory, should result in human advancement by stimulating socio-economic development. However, recent studies indicate that African urbanization tends to compound urban poverty, stall socio-economic development, and disrupt urban functionality. Unfortunately, African urbanization is expected to intensify in the foreseeable future w...
Globally, transport literature indicates a strong effect of land use on urban travel as people living in low density suburban areas tend to travel more by car than people living in high density urban areas. This is because in dense areas, public transport is organised more efficiently and travellers tend to travel shorter distances. However, this a...
This paper explores the influence of mining activities on towns in Ghana in order to appreciate their political economy and implications for urban planning. It first provides a historical account of the relations between
mining activities and emergence of towns. Second, the legal environment informing the development or otherwise of mining towns is...
This article reports on a research conducted in major Ghanaian cities of Accra and Kumasi that explored urban planners’ perspectives on the urban resilience philosophy, and evaluated the available strategies for absorbing disturbances (e.g., floods, rapid population growth, and slum development) while retaining the identity, structure and functiona...
Accessibility is frequently reported in transportation and urban planning studies as an important factor in the location or design of residential neighbourhoods. But, to what extent does accessibility influence residential location decisions of households remains unknown in urban Ghana. This paper uses household surveys and agency consultations to...
This research uses empirical data to explore the link between spatial plans and ‘actual development’ occurring in Kumasi, Ghana. The research found that urban development is determined by both spatial plans and spontaneous informal development patterns (i.e. self-organisation). However, self-organisation is more widespread compared to spatially pla...
More recently, driven by rapid and unguided urbanisation and climate change, Ghanaian cities are increasingly becoming hotspots for severe flood-related events. This paper reviews urbanisation dynamics in Ghanaian cities, and maps flood hazard zones and access to flood relief services in Kumasi, drawing insight from multi-criteria analysis and spat...
Through an analysis of Ghana’s political and administrative structure, which established the basis of urban planning practice, this paper shows how urban planning has failed to create liveable and functional cities in Ghana. This paper uses semi-structured interviews and agency consultations to supplement document reviews and news paper articles to...
This study interrogates the demand and supply of transport infrastructure and services in peri-urban areas of Sunyani Municipality in Ghana. Structured one-on-one interviews were conducted with 100 households across three peri-urban communities in Sunyani (Abesim-Kyidom, Asuakwaa and Adomako). Findings revealed that a majority of peri-urban househo...
This study explores local people’s attitudes towards urban planning, and the effects of development benefits on local support for planning in Kumasi, Ghana. Kumasi is a rapidly urbanising city in Ghana where urban growth between 2000 and 2010 exceeded 5%, and where local support for urban planning has not been studied adequately. Based on Kumasi Me...
In many rural areas of Africa, creation of protected areas and introduction of ecotourism result in changes in local livelihoods. Yet, despite assurances of improved and alternative livelihood options by conservationists and governments, rural communities often tend to be worse-off following creation of protected areas and introduction of tourism p...
In this paper, an analysis of civic initiatives to collectively realise a particular community ambition amongst informal settlers in a Ghanaian metropolitan area is presented. This community ambition is grounded in collective intent with no government or city authority intervention. Using secondary data review and interviews conducted in two select...
In Ghana, chieftaincy institutions act as custodians for about 80% of the total land area, and are responsible for leasing or allocating land while official planning institutions determine and manage its use. Yet, the extent to which chieftaincy institutions impede or contribute to sustainable urban land use planning in Ghana has received limited r...
The purpose of this research is twofold: to explore the complexity of spatial plan preparation and implementation in Ghana using Kumasi as a case study; and second, to examine the contradictions of spatial plans and ‘actual development’ occurring in Kumasi. Using social science research methods (semi-structured interviews) and physical survey (land...
This paper sets forth a set of four principles that define and operationalise the concept of urban resilience. Using these four principles, 105 registered planners with the Ghana Institute of Planners were interviewed and five most recent and relevant national planning documents (four legislation, and one policy) were evaluated to determine how wel...
Conventional wisdom views municipal solid waste management (MSWM) as the responsibility of government or city authorities in Ghana with urbanites always calling on government to deliver them from the problem. Overwhelmed with the scale of the problem, city authorities frequently seek public-private partnerships with firms (both local and internatio...
Questions
Question (1)
Call for Papers
Journal of Urban Affairs
Special Issue Theme: Understandings of Global South Urbanism: The Identity of African Cities
Guest Editor:
Dr. Patrick Brandful Cobbinah
The University of Melbourne, Australia
African cities are at the crossroads of rapid urbanization and climate change. United Nations statistics show that Africa is expected to accommodate nearly a quarter (1.3 billion) of the world’s urban population by 2050 (UNDESA/PD, 2012). Scientific evidence suggests that the current and estimated rate of urbanization is already impacting urban Africa in terms of poverty, housing shortages and slum proliferation, limited provision of essential social services, unsustainable exploitation of land resources, haphazard physical development, deteriorating transport system and services, and increasing unemployment and crime (Cobbinah et al., 2015). Initiatives to improve the image of African cities over the last 20 years have been international in nature focusing on stimulating sustainable development. They include in the Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals. The New Urban Agenda, and the Agenda 2063 Africa the future We Want. Yet, over the past two decades, African cities have not experienced any meaningful improvements in the environment and the living conditions of its residents, and that African cities continue to be plagued with urbanization and climate change threats. The obvious questions that remain are: Do researchers understand the identity of an African city? How are African cities different from other cities, particularly those in the Global North? And How can an understanding of African cities be useful in building sustainable futures?
Presently, African cities’ experience, in both planning and management, is more important than ever as the region has become globalized, reached maturity and become highly prone to urbanization and climate change impacts. The pathway to success (or failure) lies in the overall planning and management of cities, which heavily depends on strong appreciation of urban sustainability; a concept that can be co-created or co-destroyed by the very interaction between all actors and stakeholders involved in urban planning and management (including residents). Thus, perspectives and research from different built environment fields and disciplines are highly important for understanding this unique evolutionary process in African cities as well as the co-creation and co-destruction in urban sustainability.
This special issue attempts to provide an understanding of the African city, and how that can contribute to sustainable development futures. The special issue welcomes theoretical, empirical, experimental, and case study research contributions. These contributions should clearly address the theoretical and practical implications of the African city research in reference. The topics may include but are not limited to the following:
- Understanding of an African city (Definition and characteristics);
- Competitiveness and sustainability of the African cities;
- City resident’s behavior, expectations, experience and satisfaction with the African cities;
- Urban resilience, and urban planning and development;
- Emerging and innovative research methods and methodologies on urban sustainability;
- Evolution and morphologies of African cities;
- Urban health and well-being;
- Urban mobilities;
- Urban policy, planning, and development;
- Urban Poverty;
- Urban resilience;
- Social services (e.g., water, sanitation, energy/power etc.);
- Innovative futures
Abstract and initial paper submissions
Interested authors are invited to submit 150-300 words abstract describing the research relevance, methods, results (expected) and implications of their papers on understanding the identity of African cities. Please include a 50-word bio and full contact details of each contributing author and submit as a single document to Patrick Cobbinah (patrick.cobbinah@unimelb.edu.au) by May 31, 2020. Authors will be notified of the outcome by June 20, 2020. Full papers to be submitted to the same email will be due on October 31, 2020.
Important dates
Abstract submission deadline: May 31, 2020
Decision on abstract proposal: June 20, 2020
Manuscript submission deadline (6,000 – 8,000 words): October 31, 2020
Reviewers’ Feedback: December 15, 2020
Revised paper’s submission deadline: February 21, 2021
Reviewers’ final feedback and editorial decisions: May 30, 2021
Final manuscript due: July 31, 2021
Publication with Journal of Urban Affairs: September 2021
All papers should follow the submission guidelines of the Journal of Urban Affairs. For more information please visit: Journal of Urban Affairs
