Neighborhood, built environment and children's outdoor play spaces in urban Ghana: Review of policies and challenges
Current policy documents impacting urban Ghana fail to address the need for child-friendly spaces to play
Physical activity and play are important contributors to the healthy development of children. Research on environments promoting these contributors often considers the walkability and playability features of cities. Such research has generally been limited to the global north. This study addresses this gap by examining the extent to which planning policies in urban Ghana include features friendly to children’s outdoor play and independent mobility.
The first step in the research process involved identifying city and national policy documents directly related to children and general policies that can impact play opportunities in Ghana. Findings from the initial search indicate that “most urban planning policies in Ghana focus on providing good roads, water, sanitation, and security in the community” and that “no central government or municipal policies directly address children’s need for play and recreation”. Only ten documents met the criteria for review, which were documents with “policies that are directly related to children and general policies that can impact play opportunities”. Policies presented in the documents were classified into three categories: those making reference to children; those making reference to recreational activities; and those with no mention of either play or recreational activities.
Of the ten policy documents, only six relate either directly or indirectly to children. Most of the policy documents focus on urban development. One of the documents which focuses exclusively on children makes no reference to play and recreation. Policies in the other child-focused documents generally relate to child protection, prevention of abuse, and the promotion of overall well-being. Four of the urban development documents promote spaces for recreational purposes but do not include specific reference to children. Four other development-focused documents address children’s recreation but do not use the term “play”. Only one of the documents includes specific provisions for children’s play and recreation.
This study identified “a policy vacuum on measures and strategies that advocate for children play and play spaces in urban Ghana”. These results call for changes in policy and practice to create urban environments conducive to play.
Citation
Adjei-Boadi, D., Agyei-Mensah, S., Adamkiewicz, G., Rodriguez, J. I., Gemmell, E., Ezzati, M., Baumgartner, J., Owusu, G., (2022). Neighborhood, built environment and children's outdoor play spaces in urban Ghana: Review of policies and challenges. Landscape and Urban Planning, 218
