Urban Planning
MCI’s urban planning efforts focused on the Ghanaian capital of Accra, at the request of the mayor and the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA). Beginning with background research, literature reviews, visiting scholars and as much information from the field as MCI was able to glean remotely, MCI and its Columbia University partners in this effort — the Center for Sustainable Development of the School for International and Public Affairs; the Urban Design Lab, of the Earth Institute and the Graduate School for Architecture, Preservation and Planning; and colleagues at the School for Engineering and Applied Sciences – were able to construct a fairly detailed picture of many of the city’s most pressing needs.
Repeated field studies over the last years have enabled us, in collaboration with many colleagues in the AMA, the University of Ghana – Legon campus, other national ministries and such international organizations as the World Bank, UN-HABITAT, CHF International, People’s Dialogue, Housing the Masses and Cities Alliance, to map numerous neighborhoods using and sharing GIS technology; design and propose promising solutions that target the need for improved access to essential public services, residential, market and other infrastructure upgrades, traffic decongestion and public transport decision-making; and help create the conditions for local economic development and the education and vocational training that must accompany such development. MCI’s many publications on different aspects of urban planning in the City of Accra can be found at Accra Research.