Toward sustainable urbanization: Understanding the dynamics of urban sprawl and food (in)security of indigenous households in peri-urban Wa, Ghana

Abstract

This study responds to the limited literature on the effects of urban sprawl on food security in Ghanaian cities. As the study sought to understand the characteristics, drivers, and challenges of urban sprawl and the threat it poses to the urban food security of indigenous peri-urban households, we drew evidence from peri-urban Wa, Ghana. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 261 randomly sampled indigenous household heads and purposely selected key stakeholders using questionnaires and interview guides, respectively. The study used descriptive statistics, linear regression, and the food consumption score (FCS) to analyze the quantitative data. In contrast, thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data to contextualize the findings from the household survey. According to the results, urban sprawl is characterized by low-density residential housing, recurrent land disputes, and widespread encroachment on active and fallow farmlands. Hence, sprawling reduces land availability for food production and land fallowing. A higher proportion of indigenous households that depend on self-produced food fall within the acceptable level of food consumption than those that purchase food. Households that purchased food comprised those who lost land to urban sprawl and abandoned agriculture. The results imply that the role of urban and peri-urban food and land markets must be projected in urban sprawl discourse to broaden the spectrum in the Global South.