POPULATION DYNAMICS AND LAND USE: A LESSON FOR GHANA.

1.1 Introduction:

Global land use has significantly changed in the past decades. “Historically, the driving force for most land use changes is population growth although there are several interacting factors involved” (Lambin et al., 2001, 2003). A populated area consists of  good variety of independent activities and the choice of location of these activities are normally made after an assessment of the relative advantages of various locations for the performance of the activities in question, given the general framework and knowledge prevailing. This phenomenon is unfolding in different forms and intensities in different cities such as Lagos, Nigeria; Francistown, Botswana; and Manila, Philippines (UNCHS, 2006). This is a result of variations in population growth, land tenure systems, levels of technology and planning regulations. Developments in Ghana is experiencing similar growth pressures with development characterized by multi-purpose land uses for residential, commercial, agricultural, civic and culture. The objective of this piece is to look at the relationship between population changes and land use.
1.2 An Overview of Population and Land Use Relationship:

From 1990 to the year 2020, a total of approximately 14 million hectares of land (approx. 475,000 ha/yr.) in developing countries will be converted for urban purposes (Queen et al, 2003). The environmental implications of population processes have been most carefully examined within the context of developing countries.  This focus can be partially justified by the fact that much of the population within some of these regions continue to rely upon local environmental resources for subsistence. Fulfilling the resource requirements of a growing population ultimately requires some form of land-use change, be it to provide for the expansion of food production through forest clearing, to intensify production on already cultivated land, or to develop the infrastructure necessary to support increasing human numbers.  As such, it is clear that population is associated with changes in land use, although political forces, cultural values, institutional histories, and other mediating factors ultimately shape the association within any particular geographic context.

In Rwanda, high population densities have been linked to the conversion of marginal lands, such as steep hillsides, to agricultural use (May, 1995).  Similar conclusions have been reached in Zaire, DR Congo (Shapiro, 1995).  The influence of mediating factors on the association between population and land use change is evident in Honduras, where research suggests that environmental destruction is due more to inequality of resource distribution and patterns of economic development than to population pressures per se (DeWalt et al. 1993). Demonstrating the influence of political forces, government sponsored transmigration projects have resulted in the deforestation of at least 750,000 hectares per year in Indonesia (Fearnside, 1997).  Finally, in South America, a mixture of policy, poverty, and demographic pressures has been found responsible for much of the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon (Moran, 1992).

A study by United States’ Department of Commerce, in the California portion of the Mojave Desert encompassing approximately 7,400,000 hectares with over 450,000 people, on human dimensions of land-use change in 2001 reviews that human population (increasing from nearly 70,000 in 1970 to over 300,000 in 1990) represents a key driver of environmental change within the area. The study demonstrates that the increased habitat pressures brought to bear upon the natural landscape as a result of population growth, densities, and related development patterns.  In particular, higher density development implies significantly more habitat conflict.

The European Union Population and Land Use Journal, indicates that “recent decades have seen the closure of many farms and the loss of 2 million jobs in rural areas. This has significantly altered the pattern of population distribution. It has been calculated that the combined effect of urbanization and mobility in Europe’s most densely populated countries causes built-up areas to increase by 2% every 10 years”. With continuing proliferation of human influences on landscapes, there is mounting incentive to undertake quantification of relationships between spatial patterns of human populations and vegetation. Annually, population growth adds 78,000,000 more people to the planet while 27,000,000 tons of topsoil is lost (Cascade Mountain Institute, 2013). 

An evidence from both Thailand and China indicates that the number of household units may be a more important determinant of land use than the number of people per se (Entwisle 2001). This result seems plausible because the number of household units may drive the actual micro-level patterns of consumption more closely than the number of people. To the extent households are the main consumers of vegetative resources, particularly in the form of fuel wood and fodder, greater numbers of households should result in decreased land devoted to vegetation. Thus at the local community level, change in the number of households may have a stronger influence on changes in land use than change in the number of people.

1.3 A Case Study of Ghana:

As with many African countries, Ghana’s population is growing fast. The results of the 2010 Population and Housing Census (PHC) showed that the total population of Ghana is 24,658,823. The results indicated that Ghana’s population increased by 30.4 percent over the 2000 population figure of 18,912,079. The recorded annual intercensal growth rate in 2010 was 2.5 percent as against 2.7 percent recorded in 2000. This is lower than the rate for West Africa (2.9%), but higher than the global rate (1.5%). It also showed an increase in population density from 79 people per square km in 2000 to 103 per square km in 2010.

Interestingly, migration has caused some communities to grow at double the rate of other towns and cities. Such growth is mostly due to the communities’ favourable location within the transport network and its economic importance. Other considerations in the growth rate of Ghana relates to the internal growth of cities resulting from high birth rates. Population is not evenly distributed spatially anywhere. While there are pockets of heavy concentrations, there are equally vast lands which are sparsely populated or largely uninhabited. A number of factors account for this and they include climatic, vegetational cover and topographical factors which primarily determine the availability of habitable land, water and fertile soils. These factors are affected by human decisions and actions which sometimes apportion land for different uses, such as natural reserves, industrial use, parks and gardens etc. While the natural environment presents challenges and opportunities for human habitation, it is the human population that ultimately determines which place they would finally settle, based on their level of technology and the decisions they make.

In Ghana, the natural environment has, to an appreciable extent, affected the spatial location of people. For example, the Akwapim and Kwahu topographical landscape has posed challenges and physical barriers to the creation of settlements. Road network, especially feeder roads, becomes unmotorable during rainy seasons on the Akwapim and Kwahu ridges. This condition tends to prohibit frequent migration of people to these ridges for permanent habitation. At the same time, the construction of the Akosombo dam and the subsequent creation of the Volta Lake, for example, displaced and relocated a sizeable population that originally was living along the Volta River. Similarly, natural disasters affect the pattern of population distribution. The outbreak of diseases could affect population distribution, as in the case of the onchocerciasis zone in the middle belt along the Black Volta basin and the prevalence of river blindness, sleeping sickness brought about by the black fly. Although efforts have been done to help curb these environmentally related diseases (Taylor et al, 2009), however the areas noted for onchocerciasis have not attracted large populations to take advantage of the vast lands for agricultural activities.

Historically, population distribution has followed the spatial pattern of ethnic groupings which dates back to the period before colonisation, especially during the slave trade era, when the location of particular ethnic groups, to some extent, determined their source of protection. Following colonisation and subsequent development of the coastal ports and harbours as well as the forest belt, the northern territories, now made up of Northern, Upper East and Upper West, became a major source of labour for the forest agricultural belt and key mining centres down south. A major feature of the population distribution trends in Ghana is the active conversion of subsistence agricultural holdings into housing estates, industrial estates, infrastructure, schools, offices, shops, recreational grounds and related urban uses. Clearly, the spatial population distribution has over the years had relevant implications for spatial development (land use) and vice-versa.
1.3.1 Key Causes and Implication:

The continuous change in land use of areas is an utmost concern of planners and decision-makers. These changes come about as a result of rapid increase in population and the ever increasing demand on land which poses a great deal of challenge to existing land use. The unplanned expansion of areas and encroachment by people for various purposes also contribute to land use changes. Most developers do not acquire permits to change the use of a property in a designated zone. In Ghana, authorities recognize these changes when adverse effects have been created and much cannot be done to mitigate them. It is undeniable that the transformation is initiated by the market forces of demand and supply and evidence point to the fact that if authorities do not take into consideration this obvious development of rural and urban areas, then the invasion of commercial land uses rate will rapidly reduce the residential land use in areas and eventually lead to the creation of an unprecedented commercial centre. The effects of land use change culminate in high cost of a plot of land and multiple selling of a piece of land and development of unauthorised structures, slums and squatter settlements.

1.4 The Way Forward:

Based on the above literature, the following recommendations have been put forth to help make population and land use contribute to the development of Ghana.

• Coordination and Collaboration of Land Use Planning Stakeholders

Institutions such as Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD), Building Inspectorate Division and Finance Department play key roles in the management of physical development and hence the need for an enhanced coordination. TCPD, even though is responsible for physical planning, should as well take special interest in the implementation of the plans. There is the need for these institutions to be brought to function together under one platform to ensure that the implementations of plans are enforced as expected. It can be inferred that physical development is not an institution’s business but a whole array of actors with each having its own interests. Thus, any effort to make it better requires an active involvement of these institutions collaborating with each other. More so, the capacity of the institutions needs to be given the necessary boost to make them function effectively.

• Revision of Existing Planning Scheme

It is quite evident that, the changing pattern of land use will always occur at a point of population growth. There is therefore the need to review existing planning schemes and make appropriate allocations for emerging land uses. The revision must allocate alternative sites for the provision of community facilities like market, roads, schools, open space to enhance the modus vivendi of the people. A designated commercial corridors and parking areas will help solve congestion problem especially in the urban areas. Again, designated funeral grounds as well as public recreational grounds and play grounds need to be rectified for balance physical development. This can help solve frequent blocking of roads for funeral ceremonies.

• Effective Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanisms

As development proceeds, an effective monitoring and evaluation ‘follow up mechanisms’ must be done by the Building Inspectorate Division together with the Town and Country Planning Department to ensure early detection of unauthorised developments. Also, community development watchdog units must be established with authorization to direct orderly development in various communities.

• Continuous Public Education on Physical Development

The TCPD should engage in a continuous and intensive public education on the processes involved in carrying out physical development. Stakeholders especially the traditional authorities and developers should be sensitized on how to play their roles effectively to ensure orderly physical development. It is believed that a continuous and intensive public education can go a long way to preclude unauthorised development.

•  Intensify Education on Family Planning

Education about family planning must be made common. This is one of the most key measures to check the rapid population growth. The Family Planning Campaign should be a community movement instead of national campaign. People must be made aware of the different methods of birth control. Thus, the awareness and education of family planning among the people can help to increase the mean age of marriage, increase the knowledge about family planning methods and family welfare measures to control births, reduce the rapidity of child birth and thereby reduce the birth rate.

Reference:

Cascade Mountain Institute (2013). Agriculture and the Population Boom. Retrieved on January 30^th 2013, from http://www.cascademountaininstitute.org/agriculture-and-the-population-boom/

Dattatri, G. R. (1994). Urban Land Management in India: Some Critical Issues. UMP Asia Occasional Paper No. 10 October 1994.

Entwisle, B. (2001). “Population and Land Use in Nang Rong, Thailand.” Paper presented at the Population Association of America Annual Meetings, Washington, D.C. March 29 -31.

Fearnside, P.M. (1997). “Transmigration in Indonesia: Lessons from its Environmental and Social Impacts,” Environmental Management, Vol. 21, No. 4: 553-570.

Ghana Statistical Service (2012). 2010 Population and Housing Census of Ghana. Accra, Ghana Statistical Service.

Lambin, E.F., H.J. Geist, and E. Lepers (2003). Dynamics of land-use and land-cover change in tropical regions. Annual Review of Environment & Resources. 28: 205-241.

May, J. (1995) “Policies on Population, Land Use, and Environment in Rwanda,” Population and Environment: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Vol. 16, No. 4: 321-334.

Moran, E.F. (1992). Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, Occassional Paper No. 10, Series on Environment and Development, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Queen, G., Ross, E. W., Gibson, R., & Vinson, K. D.  “I participate, you participate, we participate...they profit, but let's change things”: Building a K-16 movement for progressive educational reform. Workplace: A Journal of Academic Labor, 5(2) (2003).

Shapiro, D. (1995). “Population Growth, Changing Agricultural Practices, and Environmental Degradation in Zaire,” Population and Environment: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Vol. 16, No. 3: 221-236.

Taylor, M.J., K. Awadzi, and N. Biritwum (2009). Onchocerciasis Control: Vision for the Future from a Ghanaian perspective. Retrieved on January 30^th 2013, from http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/2/1/7

United Nations Center for Human Settlements (2006). Habitat Report on the State of the Worlds Cities and Cities in the Globalizing World. Istanbul, Elsevier publications.

A CURSORY GLANCE AT ON-STREET PARKING: THE WAY FORWARD!

1.1  Introduction:

The issue of transportation development is at the heart of every nation. Due to economic activities in city centers, various spaces have been created outside and along streets as a parking facility for automobiles. Currently, traffic congestion and parking problems in urban areas are getting out of hand in many developing countries. In Ghana, decision makers in most cases favour removal of on-street parking from major arterials. They argue that this action might increase road capacity and improve safety. On the other hand, arguments for allowing on-street parking have traditionally been based on the potential benefits to local merchants. Innes et al (1990) agrees with the latter by stating that accessibility and parking convenience are among major factors that affect shoppers' destination choices. 

Recently, city authorities in Ghana face challenges in the areas of parking infrastructure availability, parking demand, safety problems of vehicles and pedestrians, time and turnover, pricing for parking and maintenance of infrastructure. These and many other challenges make on-street parking a major ‘headache’ and therefore call for answers in terms of its management. The key objective of this exposé is to expound some effects of on-street parking and identify measures to manage on-street parking.

1.2 Effects of On-Street Parking:

There are benefits of on-street parking. Litman (2006) explained that aside the convenience, on-street parking is said to be one of the best ways to provide shared parking. It is thought to be in higher demand than the alternative off-street spaces and considered more efficient as a result of higher occupancy rates. For that reason, pricing proponents such as Shoup suggest setting the highest fees for the on-street spaces (Shoup, 2004). During one of Los Angeles’ on-street parking bans, the city started to find a noticeable decline in retail business (Jakle and Sculle, 2004). Without the on-street parking spaces, the convenience factor appeared to diminish and people shopped elsewhere.

On-street parking is also considered to be more efficient with regard to land use because on-street spaces do not require access lanes or driveways (Litman, 2006). Comparing the amount of land required for an off-street surface lot to that needed for an on-street parking space, Litman (2006) and Shoup (2004) both estimate that the access lanes and driveways to the off-street parking lots is more than double the amount of land devoted to parking. In addition, landscaping requirements generally account for adding another 10% to 15% of total land area to a parking lot (Litman, 2006).

There is a strong argument that convenient parking fosters economic growth and development. The placement of on-street parking near businesses and retail uses improves accessibility and convenience to customers and has been used as a strategy for revitalization of central business districts and attraction of renewed consumer patronage to downtown areas. A number of behavioural studies cited availability of parking as a factor affecting shoppers' travel decisions. For example, an analysis of shoppers' behavioural patterns used data from Fredericton, Canada and a binary logit disaggregate behavioural model to determine the major factors affecting shoppers' destination choices. The study revealed that the availability of parking and the accessibility to the shopping area were among the most important factors in trip decision-making (Innes et al, 1990).

On-street parking is a potential traffic calming measure. Urban planners promoting new urbanism and neo-traditional street designs, as well as advocates of livable and walkable communities and proponents of traffic calming all agree that the use of on-street parking can have many benefits. On-street parking is viewed as part of the strategy to reduce motorists speeding through increased side friction. Replacement of traffic lanes by parking lanes, or reduction of traffic lane widths to allow for on-street parking show reduction in motorists speeds and better compliance with posted speed limits. Moreover, alternating of on-street parking from one side of the road to another can create a chicane-like effect in residential settings. According to Ewing (1999), this technique is a proven traffic calming measure that can reduce travel speed and result in benefits similar to those of actual chicanes at a fraction of the cost.

Among other benefits, properly designed and placed on-street parking is viewed as a means to create conditions where large vehicles can use the added space at intersections to improve their effective turning radii. Sight lines are preserved at intersections with 30- to 50-foot parking setbacks from intersecting legs (Burden, 1999). 

On-street parking cannot be said to have only positive effects. Some of the negative effects are that, firstly, substitution of a road lane by a parking lane has an important impact on capacity and a potential effect on traffic operations. This is expected to be the case when on-street parking is introduced to the state trunk line system. On-street parking limits street capacity in two ways. Firstly, it pre-empts lanes that otherwise would be used by moving traffic. Secondly, parking and un-parking maneuvers frequently reduce the capacity of the adjacent lanes. Even a single vehicle parked within a curb lane can effectively close the lane to moving traffic. At higher speeds and during periods of heavy traffic movement, on-street parking is incompatible with arterial street service and should not be permitted (AASHTO, 1994).

Furthermore, emergency vehicle access in some way is affected by on-street parking. On-street parking constitutes a serious emergency hazard wherever cars block fire hydrants or obstruct fire apparatus. Parking restrictions in the vicinity of fire stations and fire hydrants are essential public safety requirements. When placement of on-street parking is necessary or desirable, available street space must meet requirements for emergency vehicle maneuvering and fire hose laying (Chick, 1996).

1.3 Regulatory Measures for On-Street Parking:

Since on-street parking is a vital component especially in economic growth and development in a commercial area but at the same time can cause havoc if not properly managed, there is the need to put in place some regulatory mechanisms. On-street parking management approaches include: pricing actions, marketing initiatives, and enforcement and adjudication programs (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1980). On-street parking is controlled (paid) when it is required as a parking management measure (Palmer and Ferris, 2010). That is, on-street parking pricing in is done so that most drivers park there for short term errands while parking for long hours is to be done off-street. 

On-street parking restrictions are effective only if they are properly enforced.  Thus, strong and active enforcement and adjudication programs are essential. On-street parking enforcement should be considered as a sub-system of the total parking management system that aims at improving use of existing parking supply, increasing revenues, improving public and traffic safety, and enhancing quality of life and business climate. Enforcement tactics, such as aggressive ticketing, towing, and booting illegally on-street parked vehicles, have been used in many communities around the nation (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1981).

When talking about parking there is no way the issue of parking meter can be overlooked. Parking meter is an instrument where money is placed before using a parking facility and this could be manual or automatic. This metered parking is normally for short term but it all depends on the parking charges which will determine whether users can afford to pay extra charges or not thence time for parking (short or long) can be defined. 

 

The strategies for managing on-street parking are enormous and cut across other parking needs simply because they work hand in hand to give an effective and efficient parking management. According to Litman (2006), the following regulatory mechanisms can be put in place for effective and efficient on-street parking management:

•  Increase enforcement of regulations that are friendly and fair during some periods of the day.

•  Reduce on-street parking time limits. This will increase turnover and also free up the area for other users to access it.

• Encourage businesses to share parking facilities. For example, an office building can use the parking spaces during the day and for the cinema hall also to use it during the night.

• Encourage the use of alternative modes. Example, park and ride where people will park and join shuttle service to the commercial area.

• Establish high standards for parking facility design, including aesthetic features and user and environmental safety.

On-street parking space is a scarce resource, thus, priorities for its use should be established in the public interest. Managing scarce parking resources means determining if and how parking should be regulated, ensuring adequate compliance with regulations, and following up on those who do not comply. 

Parking management policies generate a variety of quantitative and qualitative impacts related to transportation, development, the environment, neighborhood, and revenue that should be carefully considered. For example, increasing short-term on-street parking while decreasing long-term parking may attract additional short-term parkers and constrain long-term parking, promote transit patronage among long-term parkers, improve highway level of service and air quality, reduce energy consumption, and promote economic growth through increased retail sales. Depending upon the actual new mix of short- and long-term parkers, parking revenue may either increase or decrease.

1.4 CONCLUSION:

On-street parking space represents a valuable resource. Thus, on-street parking is very important in every society especially where commercial activities go on along the road. This is because where on-street parking spaces are provided, motorists can park their vehicles and carry out their shopping activities conveniently. However, on-street parking if not properly managed can cause congestion especially when vehicles are parked at illegal places on the road. This can pose safety problems to all road users since moving vehicles can crash with the illegally parked vehicles or knock pedestrians down when crossing the road due to the blockage of their view by the parked vehicles. The congestion created by the illegally parked vehicles on the street and other factors can have multiplier effects such as delays to people, freight and vehicles, high operating cost of vehicles, pollution, environmental degradation, casualties and accidents, loss of productive hours, low economic development and low standard of living in the long run.

On the other hand, when congestion management strategies are put in place such as strict enforcement of laws, road pricing, parking pricing, road capacity expansion, transit improvement and rideshare programs, the negative effects of on-street parking will be reduced to the barest minimum. When this is done, the road will be free from heavy congestion and normal activities of people can be carried out with ease.

Reference:

AASHTO (1994): A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets. Washington, D.C.

Burden, D. et al. (1999):  Street  Design  Guidelines  for Healthy  Neighborhoods. Florida, Center for Livable Communities, High Springs.

Chick, C. (1996): On-Street Parking: A Guide to Practice. London, U.K, Landor Publishing.

Ewing, R. (1990):  Traffic  Calming - State  of  the  Practice.  Prepared   by  ITE  for U.S. Department of Transportation.

Innes, D., Ircha, M.C., and Badoe, D.A. (1990): Factors Affecting Automobile Shopping TripDestinations. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, Vol. 116, No. 3, pp. 126-136.

Jakle, J., and Sculle, K. (2004): Lots of Parking. Charlottesville, University of Virginia Press.

Litman, T. (2006):  Parking  Management  Best  Practices.  Chicago,  American  Planning Association.  

Palmer, D and Ferris, C (2010):  Parking  Measures  and  Policies  Research Review.  Geoff

Dawe, Department for Transport, Transport Research Laboratory.

Shoup, D. (2004): The Ideal Source of Local Public Revenue. Regional Science and Urban Economics, Vol. 34, 2004.

U.S. Department of Transportation (1980): Study of Parking Management Tactics Vol. 1. U.S.A.

U.S. Department of Transportation (1981): Study of Parking Management Tactics Vol. 3. U.S.A.