Oxford Street, Accra

Oxford Street, Accra
Author: Ato Quayson
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 477
Release: 2014-09-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0822376296

In Oxford Street, Accra, Ato Quayson analyzes the dynamics of Ghana's capital city through a focus on Oxford Street, part of Accra's most vibrant and globalized commercial district. He traces the city's evolution from its settlement in the mid-seventeenth century to the present day. He combines his impressions of the sights, sounds, interactions, and distribution of space with broader dynamics, including the histories of colonial and postcolonial town planning and the marks of transnationalism evident in Accra's salsa scene, gym culture, and commercial billboards. Quayson finds that the various planning systems that have shaped the city—and had their stratifying effects intensified by the IMF-mandated structural adjustment programs of the late 1980s—prepared the way for the early-1990s transformation of a largely residential neighborhood into a kinetic shopping district. With an intense commercialism overlying, or coexisting with, stark economic inequalities, Oxford Street is a microcosm of historical and urban processes that have made Accra the variegated and contradictory metropolis that it is today.

Heritage of Osu, Ghana. Past and Present

Heritage of Osu, Ghana. Past and Present
Author: Kwabena Ankoma
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2020-06-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 3346183076

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject History - Africa, University of Ghana, Legon, language: English, abstract: The town of Osu, being a Danish colonial town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, has a rich cultural heritage. The heritage of Osu can be traced from its contact with the Danes which led to the adoption of the name, Danish Osu or Danish Accra. Their heritage has however grown from being a colonial town into a contemporary urban settlement which is noted as one of the most vibrant places in Accra with its night life and massive inflow of tourists. This apparent rich history of Osu has called for the study into the heritage of Osu, as heritage is believed to be all aspects of culture that are part of a society. The study sought to establish among others what tangible sites have existed in the past and what have propelled their existence presently. Particular reference was made to the Christianborg Castle, Richter Fort, Nii-Okantey Shikatse We, Osu Salem School and Frederichs Minde which were all developed in the Danish era. The study also covered other heritage sites such as the Danquah Circle in Osu, the Osu Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu Cemetery and the State House. The study furthermore brought into light the distinction of the economics, governance system and education in Osu in terms of how these features were in the past and how they are presently. At the end of the study, findings (primary and secondary sources) established that the heritage of Osu have been propelled by culture contact and globalization and with the implementation of sustainable development the heritage of Osu will be properly protected for an increasing tourists’ consumption. Recommendations were made for further research into the intangible heritage of Osu as well as establish the divergent cultural traits between those living around the "Oxford Street" and those in the traditional quarters.

Ghana on the Go

Ghana on the Go
Author: Jennifer Hart
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2016-10-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0253023254

As early as the 1910s, African drivers in colonial Ghana understood the possibilities that using imported motor transport could further the social and economic agendas of a diverse array of local agents, including chiefs, farmers, traders, fishermen, and urban workers. Jennifer Hart's powerful narrative of auto-mobility shows how drivers built on old trade routes to increase the speed and scale of motorized travel. Hart reveals that new forms of labor migration, economic enterprise, cultural production, and social practice were defined by autonomy and mobility and thus shaped the practices and values that formed the foundations of Ghanaian society today. Focusing on the everyday lives of individuals who participated in this century of social, cultural, and technological change, Hart comes to a more sensitive understanding of the ways in which these individuals made new technology meaningful to their local communities and associated it with their future aspirations.

Making an African City

Making an African City
Author: Jennifer Hart
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2024-04-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 0253069351

In Making an African City, Jennifer Hart traces the way that British colonial officials, Accra Town Council members, and a diverse group of technocrats used regulation to define what an "acceptable" city looked like. Unlike cities elsewhere on the continent, Accra had a long history of urbanism that predated British colonial presence. By criminalizing some activities and privileging others, colonial officials sought to marginalize indigenous practices of Accra residents and shape the development of a new, "modern" city. Hart argues, however, that residents regularly pushed back, protesting regulations, refusing to participate in newly developed systems, reappropriating infrastructure, demanding rights to city services, and asserting their own informal vision for the future of the city. While urban plans and regulations ultimately failed to substantively remake the city, their effects were and are still felt by urban residents, who are often subject to but not served by urban infrastructure. Making an African City explores how the informalization of Accra's development was a historical process, not a natural and self-evident phenomenon, which connects the history of the city with the history of urban development and the growth of technocracy around the world.

Accra Noir (Akashic Noir)

Accra Noir (Akashic Noir)
Author: Nana-Ama Danquah
Publisher: Akashic Books
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2020-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1617758949

Accra joins Lagos, Nairobi, Marrakech, and Addis Ababa in representing the African continent in the Noir Series arena. “Superb . . . Each story reaffirms how fundamental ‘place’ is to the noir genre and how the locale shapes the story as much as the characters themselves . . . Strongly recommended.” —Library Journal “There’s good writing as well as a strong sense of place and culture, and the reader will absorb a side of Accra that doesn’t make it into the tourist brochures.” —New York Journal of Books Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Brand-new stories by: Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, Kwame Dawes, Adjoa Twum, Kofi Blankson Ocansey, Billie McTernan, Ernest Kwame Nkrumah Addo, Patrick Smith, Anne Sackey, Gbontwi Anyetei, Nana-Ama Danquah, Ayesha Harruna Attah, Eibhlín Ní Chléirigh, and Anna Bossman.

Daily Graphic

Daily Graphic
Author: Ransford Tetteh
Publisher: Graphic Communications Group
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2014-03-10
Genre:
ISBN:

State and Culture in Postcolonial Africa

State and Culture in Postcolonial Africa
Author: Tejumola Olaniyan
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2017-10-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 025303017X

How has the state impacted culture and cultural production in Africa? How has culture challenged and transformed the state and our understandings of its nature, functions, and legitimacy? Compelled by complex realities on the ground as well as interdisciplinary scholarly debates on the state-culture dynamic, senior scholars and emerging voices examine the intersections of the state, culture, and politics in postcolonial Africa in this lively and wide-ranging volume. The coverage here is continental and topics include literature, politics, philosophy, music, religion, theatre, film, television, sports, child trafficking, journalism, city planning, and architecture. Together, the essays provide an energetic and nuanced portrait of the cultural forms of politics and the political forms of culture in contemporary Africa.

Daily Graphic

Daily Graphic
Author: Kingsley Inkoom
Publisher: Graphic Communications Group
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2014-09-02
Genre:
ISBN:

The New Blackwell Companion to The City

The New Blackwell Companion to The City
Author: Gary Bridge
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 786
Release: 2011-02-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1444395122

This book considers the state of the city and contemporary urbanisation from a range of intellectual and international perspectives. The most interdisciplinary collection of its kind Provides a contemporary update on urban thinking that builds on well established debates in the field Uses the city to explore economic, social, cultural, environmental and political issues more broadly Includes contributions from non Western perspectives and cities