Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Urban Sprawl and Landscape Transition in Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Urban Commons, Future Smart Cities and Sustainability

Part of the book series: Springer Geography ((SPRINGERGEOGR))

  • 488 Accesses

Abstract

The rapid rate at which cities and towns are urbanising is of concern to urban planners globally. Urbanisation has caused urban sprawl and densification of urban landscapes of cities. This chapter is based on a project that has used remote sensing and social survey methods to assess the transformation of the physical landscape into urban landscape in the Awutu Senya East Municipality between 1986 and 2021. Remote sensing analysis entailed image classification and change detection. Social survey involving questionnaire administration and key informant interviews were conducted to ascertain the causes and impacts of declining vegetative cover. Vegetation and barelands were more transformed into urban landscape. Rising population of the locality related to urban sprawl and intensification causing a decrease in vegetal cover and barelands from a coverage of 53.5% and 35.4%, respectively, in 1986 to 15.3% and 13.7%, respectively, in 2021, while built-up environment increased from 9.7% in 1986 to 70.6% in 2021. Most conversions of vegetation were between 1986 and 2002, barelands between 2002 and 2021 while built-up assumed a rising trend throughout the period. The main driving force of vegetal and bareland diminution is urbanisation which caused an increase in the built-up environment. The landscape transformation is perceived to be causing urban heat, urban aesthetic damage, flooding, etc. The study recommends the development and implementation of a land use plan focusing on urban greening to improve upon the ecological services of the municipality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acheampong EP, Ampomah F, Doku TJ (2019) Using remote sensing to examine the rate of urbanization in Accra, Ghana: a case study of Ga East, West, Central and South Municipal. J Food Agri Environ 6(2)

    Google Scholar 

  • Adarkwa KK (2012) The changing face of Ghanaian towns. AREF 4(1):1–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Addae B, Oppelt N (2019) Land-use/land-cover change analysis and urban growth modelling in the greater Accra metropolitan area (GAMA), Ghana. Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Technical University Berlin, Faculty VI, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany, Department of Geography, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Ludewig-Meyn-Straße 14, 24098 Kiel, Germany; oppelt@geographie.unikiel.de

    Google Scholar 

  • Agyeman SA (2018) Impacts of urban sprawl on livelihoods and ecology in peri-urban fringe of the greater Accra metropolitan area. West Afr J Appl Ecol 28(SI):100–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Anarfi K, Hill RA, Shiel C (2020) Highlighting the sustainability implications of urbanisation: a comparative analysis of two urban areas in Ghana. LND 9(9):300

    Google Scholar 

  • Antrop M (2004) Landscape change and the urbanization process in Europe. Landsc Urban Plan 67(1–4):9–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly (2017) Four-year medium-term development. Retrieved from CR_Awutu+Senya+East_2014-2017+MMTDP.pdf—AWS. Accessed on 20 May 2022

    Google Scholar 

  • Blay J (2019) Remote sensing and GIS analysis of urban growth and its impacts on surface temperature: a case study of Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly. Doctoral dissertation, University of Ghana, Legon

    Google Scholar 

  • Bodo T (2019) Rapid urbanization theories, causes, consequences, and coping strategies. Ann Geograph Stud 2(3):32–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Breheny M (1996) Centrists, decentrists and compromisers. Views on the future of urban form. The compact city. A Sustain Urban Form 22:13–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai Y, Chen Y, Tong C (2019) Spatiotemporal evolution of urban green space and its impact on the urban thermal environment based on remote sensing data. A case study of Fuzhou City China. Urban for Urban Green 41:333–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao Y, Natuhara Y (2019) Effect of urbanization on vegetation in riparian area. Plant communities in artificial and semi-natural habitats. Sustain 12(1):204

    Google Scholar 

  • Chu L, Sun T, Wang T, Li Z, Cai C (2018) Evolution and prediction of landscape pattern and habitat quality based on CA-Markov and Invest model in Hubei section of Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA). Sustain 10(11):3854

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobbinah PB, Amoako C (2012) Urban sprawl and the loss of peri-urban land in Kumasi Ghana. Int J Humanit Soc Sci 6(388):e397

    Google Scholar 

  • Dallimer M, Tang Z, Bibby PR, Brindley P, Gaston KJ, Davies ZG (2011) Temporal changes in greenspace in a highly urbanized region. Biol Lett 7(5):763–766

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dantzi, GB, Saaty TL (1973) Compact city: a plan for a liveable urban environment; W.H. Freeman and Company: San Francisco, CA, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • De Roo G (2000) Environmental conflicts in compact cities: complexity, decision making, and policy approaches. Environ Plann B Plann Des 27(1):151–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson KB, Benneh G (1995) A new geography of Ghana. Longman, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong Y, Ren Z, Fu Y, Hu N, Guo Y, Jia G, He X (2022) Decrease in the residents’ accessibility of summer cooling services due to green space loss in Chinese cities. Environ Int 158:107002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghana Statistical Service [GSS] (2012) 2010 Population and housing census: summary report of results. Accra, Ghana, Ghana Statistical Service 2021. Accessed 25 Jan 2022 http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010phc/2010_POPULATION_AND_HOUSING_CENSUS_FINAL_RESULTS.pdf

  • Ghana Statistical Service [GSS] (2014) 2010 Population and housing census. Report: district analytical report—Awutu Senya East Municipality—Accra. Ghana Statistical Service

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghana Statistical Service [GSS] (2021) 2021 Population and housing census: press release on provisional results. Ghana Statistical Service—Accra. Retrieved 25 Jan 2021, from www.census2021.statsghana.gov.gh/dissemination

  • Ghana Statistical Service [GSS] (2013) 2010 Population and housing census: regional analytical report—greater Accra region. Ghana Statistical Service—Accra. Ghana Statistical Service

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser EL (2014) A world of cities: the causes and consequences of urbanization in poorer countries. J Eur Econ Assoc 12(5):1154–1199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haaland C, van Den Bosch CK (2015) Challenges and strategies for urban green-space planning in cities undergoing densification: A review. Urban For Urban greening 14(4):760–771

    Google Scholar 

  • Habibi S, Asadi N (2011) Causes, results and methods of controlling urban sprawl. Procedia Eng 21:133–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han J (2020) Can urban sprawl be the cause of environmental deterioration? Based on the provincial panel data in China. Environ 189:109954

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hasan M, Hassan L, Al MA, Abualreesh MH, Idris MH, Kamal AH (2022) Urban green space mediates spatiotemporal variation in land surface temperature: a case study of an urbanized city, Bangladesh. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(24):36376–36391

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs J (1961) The death and life of great American cities. Book Unpublished resources, Randoms House, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MP (2001) Environmental impacts of urban sprawl: a survey of the literature and proposed research agenda. Environ Plan A 33(4):717–735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabisch N, Qureshi S, Haase D (2015) Human–environment interactions in urban green spaces—a systematic review of contemporary issues and prospects for future research. Environ Impact Assess Rev 50:25–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kusimi JM (2015) Characterizing land disturbance in Atewa range forest reserve and buffer zone. Land Use Policy 49:471–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Fan P, Yue W, Song Y (2018) Impacts of land finance on urban sprawl in China: the case of Chongqing. Land Use Policy 72:420–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Zhang L, Zhang Q, Li C, Zhang G, Wang Y (2022) Spatiotemporal evolution differences of urban green space: A comparative case study of Shanghai and Xuchang in China. Land Use Policy 112:105824

    Google Scholar 

  • Luan W, Li X (2021) Rapid urbanization and its driving mechanism in the Pan-Third Pole region. Sci Total Environ 750:141270

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Newman P (1992) The compact city: an Australian perspective. Built Environ 18(4):285–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Njoh AJ (2003) Urbanization and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Cities 20(3):167–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obese FY, Acheampong DA, Darfour-Oduro KA (2013) Growth and reproductive traits of Friesian x Sanga crossbred cattle in the Accra Plains of Ghana. African J Food, Agric Nutr Dev 18:13(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Owusu AB (2018) An assessment of urban vegetation abundance in Accra metropolitan area, Ghana A Geospatial Approach. J Environ Geogr 11(1–2):37–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park H, Fan P, John R, Chen J (2017) Urbanization on the Mongolian plateau after economic reform: changes and causes. Appl Geogr 86:118–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pauleit S, Ennos R, Golding Y (2005) Modeling the environmental impacts of urban land use and land cover change—a study in Merseyside. UK. Landsc Urban Plan 71(2–4):295–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saaty TL, De Paola P (2017) Rethinking design and urban planning for the cities of the future. Buildings 7(3):76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shin DH, Lee KS (2005) Use of remote sensing and geographical information systems to estimate green space surface-temperature change as a result of urban expansion. Landsc Ecol Eng 1(2):169–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siddique S, Uddin M (2022) Green space dynamics in response to rapid urbanization: patterns, transformations, and topographic influence in Chattogram city Bangladesh. Land Use Policy 114:105974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stow DA, Weeks JR, Shih HC, Coulter LL, Johnson H, Tsai YH, Kerr A, Benza M, Mensah F (2016) Inter-regional pattern of urbanization in southern Ghana in the first decade of the new millennium. Appl Geogr 71:32–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun R, Chen L (2017) Effects of green space dynamics on urban heat islands: mitigation and diversification. Ecosyst Serv 23:38–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swenson JJ, Franklin J (2000) The effects of future urban development on habitat fragmentation in the Santa Monica mountains. Landsc Ecol 15(8):713–730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs [UNDESA] (2018) 2018 Revision of united nations (UN), 2013. Sustainable development changes. World economic and social survey 2013. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UnitedNations Publication. http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/wesscurrent/wess2013/WESS2013.pdf_. (Accessed on 28 Apr 2022)

  • Westerink J, Haase D, Bauer A, Ravetz J, Jarrige F, Aalbers CB (2013) Dealing with sustainability trade-offs of the compact city in peri-urban planning across European city regions. Eur Plan Stud 21(4):473–497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolch JR, Byrne J, Newell JP (2014) Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough.’ Landsc Urban Plan 125:234–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie Q, Liu J (2019) Combined nonlinear effects of economic growth and urbanization on CO2 emissions in China: evidence from a panel data partially linear additive model. Energy 186

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang J, Sun J, Ge Q, Li X (2017) Assessing the impacts of urbanization-associated green space on urban land surface temperature: a case study of Dalian, China. Urban for Urban Green 22:1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yankson, PWY, Bertrand M (2012) Challenges of urbanization in Ghana, CODESRIA: Dakar

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang HL, Cubino JP, Nizamani MM, Harris AJ, Cheng XL, Da L, Sun Z, Wang HF (2022) Wealth and land use drive the distribution of urban green space in the tropical coastal city of Haikou China. Urban for Urban Green 71:127554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao J, Chen S, Jiang B, Ren Y, Wang H, Vause J, Yu H (2013) Temporal trend of green space coverage in China and its relationship with urbanization over the last two decades. Sci Total Environ 442:455–465

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou D, Zhao S, Liu S, Zhang L (2014a) Spatiotemporal trends of terrestrial vegetation activity along the urban development intensity gradient in China’s 32 major cities. Sci Total Environ 488:136–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou D, Zhao S, Liu S, Zhang L, Zhu C (2014b) Surface urban heat island in China’s 32 major cities: spatial patterns and drivers. Remote Sens Environ 152:51–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Our sincere gratitude goes to the people of the Awutu Senya East Municipality and the various stakeholders for providing the necessary data for the research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana

    Cudjoe Justice & John Manyimadin Kusimi

Authors
  1. Cudjoe Justice
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John Manyimadin Kusimi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Manyimadin Kusimi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Bhatter College Dantan, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India

    Uday Chatterjee

  2. Department of Geography, Haringhata Mahavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, India

    Nairwita Bandyopadhyay

  3. National Research and Innovation Agency, Research Center for Oceanography, Jakarta, Indonesia

    Martiwi Diah Setiawati

  4. School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    Soma Sarkar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Justice, C., Kusimi, J.M. (2023). Urban Sprawl and Landscape Transition in Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly. In: Chatterjee, U., Bandyopadhyay, N., Setiawati, M.D., Sarkar, S. (eds) Urban Commons, Future Smart Cities and Sustainability. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24767-5_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation