ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the results of three years of action research undertaken in three informal settlements of Accra — Agbogbloshie, Chorkor-Chemuena and Madina Zongo — each with distinct population characteristics. This research responded to the lack of a clear policy or law guaranteeing residents of informal settlements land access and protection from forced evictions. City authorities have often responded to informal urbanization with eviction threats, defining residents as “aliens” and depriving them of social facilities and urban services — thus hindering international efforts to make settlements safe, inclusive and sustainable. Interventions to address this critical need have largely focused on tangible improvements, such as infrastructure and services, without addressing intangibles, such as helping individuals understand their rights and giving them a voice. This chapter provides background on the challenges facing informal settlements in Ghana, and how the action research unfolded in these three sites, creating tools and structures for communities to learn about their rights, increase their collective voice and gain access to justice. It highlights outcomes and critical lessons learned, such as the transformative effect that legal empowerment had on Agbogbloshie residents and the strengthened leadership and more inclusive governance achieved in Chorkor-Chemuena. Through the experience of Madina Zongo, it also shows the negative effects that political polarization can have on informal settlements.
