A MARKET DESIGN FOR AKYEM ODA, GHANA:

Thesis Overview

<p> INTRODUCTION&nbsp;</p><p>Outdoor open air markets are where commerce happens daily in Africa. These lively markets are deeply embedded in the traditional culture of Africa and are vital to a community’s economic survival. A visit to Ghana would not be complete without a visit to one or several of these markets. In fact, it is impossible to avoid such an experience as markets are ubiquitous. Like in other West African communities, they are a fundamental social institution and a collective force in Ghana. Therefore, this investigation of markets is a vital key to community design and economic development in Ghana and greater West Africa. After a careful literature review, there is surprisingly little research on markets both as a cultural entity and even less as a spatial configuration within the context of the greater city. The notable exception would be the seminal book, Onions Are My Husband: Survival and Accumulation by West African Market Women, in which Gracia Clark studies the market women and the open air marketplace in Kumasi, Ghana (Clark, 1994). <br></p><p> The use of the term, market, is most often limited to the economic term and not to an actual location. For those tasked with the physical design and layout of a market, there are currently no written standards. This is an attempt for the future, to give guidance. Cultural sensitivity with particular consideration of site specifications unique to African opportunities and constraints would advance improved community design in Ghana.&nbsp;</p><p>This thesis will form a basis for providing more sensitive site criteria for the design and relocation of new markets in Ghana. The proposal for a new community marketplace in Akyem Oda, a town in the Birim South district of Ghana, provides a model to begin the process. Oda is a small town of about 39,000 people. The author first visited Oda in 2006 and then again in 2007 as part of the ongoing University of Georgia (UGA) Ghana Summer Service-Learning Studio. Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Through the UGA service-learning program, many projects were initiated including topics such as: “Computers for Ghana” which looked at potential technology donors for local schools, an erosion control study with recommendations for improvement of the Zongo community (the Islamic settlement), and creating the Gye Nyame Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support to children attending local schools.&nbsp;</p><p>Frank Busumtwi, District Chief Executive of Birim South and the primary program contact, presented a proposal to the author. It was a plan, created in 2005 by Accra’s Sutherland &amp; Sutherland and S. Teteh &amp; Associates, architects and planners, outlining a new scheme for a market in an area of Oda called Nkwantanum. The proposal was met with some controversy because the new location was viewed as competition for the traditional market. In addition, the proposal introduces new commercial zoning for the “satellite” market. Land use zoning, not unlike its introduction in America, is a contentious issue in Ghana. Government regulation is viewed with suspicion and implies new ways of managing change. Oda’s local government will have difficulty making the new ideas acceptable. <br></p><p> The “Proposed New Market at Nkwantanum, Akyem Oda” intends to (Sutherland et al 2005):&nbsp;</p><p>1. Promote diverse commercial activity,</p><p>&nbsp;2. Simplify the upkeep of a clean and hygienic environment and facilitate refuse management,&nbsp;</p><p>3. Give a more pleasant shopping experience,&nbsp;</p><p>4. Enhance the business and revenue generation potential of the given site,&nbsp;</p><p>5. Facilitate the management of emergencies such as fire. <br></p><p> To achieve these goals the market layout is designed:&nbsp;</p><p>1. In functional zones for each class of commercial activity in such a manner that the zones relate,&nbsp;</p><p>2. With a hierarchy of circulation to facilitate user orientation and give a logical pattern to the spaces,&nbsp;</p><p>3. With building types to suit the commercial value of their location within the market,</p><p>&nbsp;4. With segregated vehicle parking at suitable vantage points,&nbsp;</p><p>5. With a phased development that allows the growth of the market from a basic foodstuffs market to commercial services area with more sophisticated goods and services made available,&nbsp;</p><p>6. With civil works structures like drains and paved walkways that channel pedestrian traffic and storm water in a manner suited to the topography,&nbsp;</p><p>7. With architectural features that give character to the location. <br></p><p> During a visit in 2007, an opportunity for further investigation in Akyem Oda revealed conflicts between the traditional existing and operating central market and the new location. Interviews were conducted with citizens of Oda, the Honorable Frank Busumtwi, at the time still appointed DCE, market women, local planning staff, banking representatives who were familiar with the loan structure for market sellers known as ‘su-su,’ and several other decision makers familiar with the proposal for the market. <br></p><p> Since the previous visit in 2006, a new simplified and significantly less expensive plan was drafted by the planning department as an alternative to that of Sutherland &amp; Sutherland and S. Teteh &amp; Associates. This plan, presented by the planning department, is the most recent version “on the books” at the time of this writing in 2009. A funding shortfall has stalled the construction of the new market. <br></p><p> A market design for a mid-size town in a developing West African country will be successful if the socioeconomic, historical-cultural and environmental aspects are addressed with both sound research and methodology. In this case, the methodology is an interdisciplinary academic investigation spanning the fields of anthropology, history, international development, landscape architecture, and urban planning. This thesis is concerned with evaluating and achieving open air market design that is contextual and reflects Akyem Oda. This work is divided into seven chapters which includes a new design for the market. <br></p>