In a state of slum: governance in an informal urban settlement in Ghana

TY - JOUR

T1 - In a state of slum

T2 - governance in an informal urban settlement in Ghana

AU - Stacey, Paul Austin

AU - Lund, Christian

PY - 2016/12/1

Y1 - 2016/12/1

N2 - Old Fadama in Accra, Ghana, is a vast informal settlement. A legalistic approachby successive governments has meant a near-absence of statutory institutionsand the emergence of alternative public authorities. These endeavour toprovide the area with a range of basic public services to solve the area’sserious developmental challenges. Through processes of informal negotiationresidents establish rights and social contracts that underpin and define whatwill constitute ideas of state and law. At the same time, self-governanceemerges while relations with statutory institutions shift back and forthbetween vilification, tacit acceptance, and productive cooperation. The articlecontributes to studies of governance in informal urban settlements on twofronts. First, it shows how informal arrangements lead to the provision ofbasic public services and influence the workings of formal institutions of government. Second, it challenges facile understandings of large-scale informal settlements as generally chaotic, lawless or subversive.

AB - Old Fadama in Accra, Ghana, is a vast informal settlement. A legalistic approachby successive governments has meant a near-absence of statutory institutionsand the emergence of alternative public authorities. These endeavour toprovide the area with a range of basic public services to solve the area’sserious developmental challenges. Through processes of informal negotiationresidents establish rights and social contracts that underpin and define whatwill constitute ideas of state and law. At the same time, self-governanceemerges while relations with statutory institutions shift back and forthbetween vilification, tacit acceptance, and productive cooperation. The articlecontributes to studies of governance in informal urban settlements on twofronts. First, it shows how informal arrangements lead to the provision ofbasic public services and influence the workings of formal institutions of government. Second, it challenges facile understandings of large-scale informal settlements as generally chaotic, lawless or subversive.

U2 - 10.1017/S0022278X16000586

DO - 10.1017/S0022278X16000586

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0022-278X

VL - 54

SP - 591

EP - 615

JO - Journal of Modern African Studies

JF - Journal of Modern African Studies

IS - 4

ER -