Shaping expanding cities for accessible transport ‑ Proximity and road networks

Accra and Kumasi expanded rapidly over the last 35 years, with residential developments appearing on the periphery, often with limited investments in infrastructure or essentials services. This lowers proximity diminishing accessibility in these cities, especially in the absence of well-functioning transit system with mass-transit, bike lanes, sidewalks, and so on. In fact, the road network, itself, can make it difficult to travel via non-car modes, e.g., limited intersections worsen walkability. In cities, like Accra and Kumasi, anyone living in those areas who might rely on walking or trotros (which is most of the population) might find themselves cut off from essential daily needs, particularly women who are carrying out caregiving roles alongside their employment. Creating proximity can drastically improve the quality of life and feasibility of non-car modes. Even though, there is general acceptance that land-use and transport need to go together within government, several governance and institutional barriers stand in the way of realising this. This policy paper explores two levers to improve accessibility (proximity and road network upgrading) and explores paths for better co-ordination within existing institutional frameworks.