Lessons from 'compound family house' housing strategies for low-income families in Ghana

The housing crisis in Canada is a well discussed topic among academics, planners, economists, policy analysts and stakeholders due to its impacts on every aspect of a person’s life. People without housing are more likely to experience compounded hardships and experience a lower quality of life. The current housing crisis is not a situation that is unique to Canada. All around the world, countries are experiencing a surge in the number of persons without housing. In economically developed countries, including Canada, the housing is attributed to inefficiencies in land use planning systems, high interest rates and inflation, prominent levels of international immigrants and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. All the aforementioned factors hold true for economically developing countries such as Ghana. While there are stark economic, social, cultural, and geographical differences between Canada and Ghana, there exists similarities that are worth noting. In this article, the authors draw lessons from Ghana’s housing crisis, and adaptation strategies by individuals and the government to provide recommendations on how planners, policymakers and stakeholders can positively contribute to efforts to alleviate the housing crisis in Canada.
 
Ghana, just like Canada is a former colony of the British empire and has remnants of colonial era policies and legislation that is practiced and implemented to this day. Ghana only became independent from colonial rule 67 years ago and as such there are policies that are heavily influenced by the colonial era land use planning.
 
Post-independence Ghana experienced a series of changes in government systems and politico-economic ideologies. Immediately after independence, there was a strong push for the socialist government which started programs to provide services and goods to the people. It was not until the 1980s that Ghana was affected by the global neoliberal revolution. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were part of the effort to revitalize the Ghanaian economy. They put Ghana on the Structural Adjustment Program which saw the government implement neoliberal policies. The economy became more privatized and the market free. This period saw the proliferation of private investors in the housing market contrary to previous years where the government was directly involved in providing housing for the population – from this period on, the government only acted as an enabling body, allowing for private investors to enter the market. In Canada and Ghana alike, the real estate market is controlled by private individuals; the rental market is controlled by private individuals who own or have a personal stake in all kinds of properties.
 
The mortgage system in Ghana is used by very few but it has been increasing over the last decade. The International Organization for Migration notes that Ghana is among the countries experiencing rapid urbanization and mobility. Intra-regional migration from rural to urban areas in Ghana has contributed to the rate at which the country is urbanizing. Major urban cities such as Kumasi, Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi have seen their population grow by hundreds of thousands of immigrants over the last decade. International migration from neighbouring countries have also been identified as a significant factor in the rapid population growth. Migrants from neighboring countries move to these major cities for education, refuge, as well as employment. The 2010 population of Ghana was around 24 million people, and the 2021 population census recorded a population of 30 million people. The rapid population growth in Ghana can be likened to the population growth in Canada over the last decade. The 2011 population of Canada was 33 million, and the 2021 population census recorded 36 million people. In Canada, international migration accounts for over 70% of this population growth. The rapid population growth in both countries have been a key factor in the shortage of housing options. Migrants, especially, have been disproportionately affected by the housing crisis in Ghana and Canada. It is estimated that there is a 2 million housing deficit in Ghana. In Canada, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) estimates that there is a need for an added 3.5 million housing units to alleviate the housing crisis by 2030. In both countries, persons without housing and being homeless has become endemic. There has been an upward trend in the number and size of tent encampments in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver in Canada. Comparatively, Ghana has seen an increase in informal housing, communal living, expansion of slums and persons sleeping on the streets.
 
One response to the housing crisis in Ghana has been the expansion of slums in major cities. In Accra and Kumasi, prominent slums in Aboabo and Nima have provided affordable housing for hundreds of thousands of intra-regional and international migrants. Slums are not properly laid out, developed or well connected to services and the overall standard of living is low. Studies have found that these slums usually serve as transitional housing for migrant workers who may save up to move into better housing. From the outside, these slums are unorganized and haphazard, but a closer look reveals a well organized and complex community where social and economic benefits increase from communal living among residents. Slum development in Ghana is an act of Guerrilla Urbanism. Often these lands for slum development belong to government agencies or corporations who have not developed the land in a long time. This has brought about frequent demolition operations to remove the occupants by local government. The Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Works and Housing started the Urban Environmental Sanitation Project in 1996 with the core goal to scale up and improve services and amenities in pro-poor housing sector (including slums). Where appropriate, the local government acknowledges the existence of slums as legitimate neighbourhoods and provide essential services to those areas. The acknowledgement and provision of services does not mean that the land has been conveyed to the occupants; in an instance where the owners of the lands need them, the occupants are removed. Comptartively, tent encampments in Canada are often riddled with safety issues from fire, health, and crime. As planners and policymakers, taking an empowerment approach to tackling tent encampments and persons without housing sleeping on the streets will yield better results than we have now. The empowerment approach may involve partnering with other organizations to provide safety education to persons who are homeless or tent encampments. It may also involve actively engaging with homeless in the development of housing policies.
 
Another response to the housing crisis in Ghana is family compound housing. The Family Compound House is a multi-residential building that serves as a home to generations of an extended family. Historically, this is how families in Ghana lived for hundreds of years. Usually, the homes are a four-sided building where one side provides hygiene and kitchen facilities, and the rest is sleeping and living room units. Facilities are common spaces shared by members of the family. Each residential unit is assigned to a nuclear family in the extended family, and it is passed on as inheritance to the next generation of the family. Utility bills may be paid by one person or may be shared accordingly among nuclear families. An adaptation of this housing system is the Compound Housing System. In the compound housing system, the residents in the house are not family members but rather random people occupying individual units. These units can often house up to 20 households. This housing type can mainly be found in cities such as Kumasi, Accra and Tamale in Ghana. This housing system has been described as the only affordable housing option for the urban poor in Ghana. Often, these housing types are found closer to high order transit areas, employment areas, and near amenities such as schools and central business districts. The location of this housing type is not influenced by the zone of the land but rather the proximity to amenities and services.
 
High order transit areas in Ontario are often earmarked for high density residential development and this goes a long way in reducing commute time for residents as well as make services more accessible. Quite often, low density zones and development tend to be the dominant zone in planning policies and documents. Addressing the housing crisis in Canada will require a re-evaluation of the priority placed on higher density zones in planning documents. Higher density zones promote intensification of land use as well as efficient use of resources and services. Where higher density zones are prioritized more than they are now, it can address social issues such as loneliness and aging in place; environmental issues such as deforestation; and housing affordability issues. Housing policies should encourage housing types that promotes communal living among residents.
 
State Housing Company Limited (SHC) is a government agency mandated to increase the availability of dwelling houses in Ghana as well as provide homes and estate management services to other government agencies, local authorities, developers, and private home buyers. SHC is a remnant of the British Colonial Government that was set up in 1956 in the Gold Coast Housing Corporation Ordinance 1955. SHC’s first goal up until 1970s was to construct houses as a social service initiative, SHC’s goal has slightly changed since the 1970s, the homes it constructs now are not geared towards social housing. SHC’s website states that SHC is the Nation’s number 1 builder that provides homes and estate management services to Government Agencies, Local Authorities, Developers and Private home buyers.
 
The effectiveness and efficiency of SHC abysmal; annual reports show that over the past four years, it has contributed less than 500 houses to the housing stock in Ghana. While this may be true, we believe that with the current systems and resources in Canada, the establishment of a similar institution at the Provincial or Federal level in Canada will bring stability to the housing crisis. The closest institution we have in Canada is CHMC which provides housing solutions and mortgage options to the public but is not involved in contributing to the housing stock in Canada. At the local government level, District Social Services organizations actively offers social housing options but quite often, there is a long waitlist which can delay getting a housing unit for as long as three years. Municipalities have realized the importance of being directly involved in providing housing for its residents. For example, Prince Edward County through its Strategic Plan showed the Prince Edward County Affordable Housing Corporation which builds affordable housing for residents in the Municipality. In the face of the current housing crisis, there is a need for a provincial or federal government organization that is tasked with constructing affordable housing for residents in Canada. Municipalities are also encouraged to follow the steps of Prince Edward County to be directly involved in providing affordable housing for residents.