Drive left, look right: the political economy of urban transport in Ghana

Car usage in Ghana is growing at an alarming rate. Logically, a growth in total number of cars must be because either (a) population is increasing or (b) car ownership per capita is rising or both. However, these do not sufficiently explain the increasing car population in Ghana. The article argues that the high demand for mobility in the country is an intrinsic part of the political economic track on which Ghana has been travelling since the mid-1980s. This demand is created by, and is in turn stimulated by, the accumulation of capital through economic liberalisation and imperial town planning laws that separate home from work. The result is manifest in human lives lost, environmental conditions worsened and property damaged. The article recommends alternative ways of improving urban transportation in Ghana.