Sustainability Politics and Housing Development in Urban Brazil and Ghana

Rapid population growth in the Global South places extreme pressure on cities, making it very difficult for governments to provide the necessary housing to city dwellers. The short-term needs and demands of residents often contradict or challenge long-term central urban plans and sustainable solutions. Important but overlooked actors in the politics of sustainable urban development are community organisations that demand housing and rights to the city. Yet these organisations do not adopt the same strategies everywhere. This article examines the pathways of engagement adopted by organisations across different urban contexts and how they affect governance. These organisations contribute to sustainability politics by engaging local and national governments, allying with political parties and politicians, and informing and mobilising local populations. Drawing from a most different case design that compares São Paulo, Brazil with Accra, Ghana, we find that the ideology of the organisation, its relationship to the state and to society, and the credibility of multi-level institutions shape the success or failure of sustainable urban governance and development. We conclude that urban residents often seek change through pathways of engagement that can be generalised across diverse social contexts, but the underlying politics within civil society can undermine a sustainable urban future.