Stephen Kofi Diko – The Conversation

Residents of Accra were given financial aid during the pandemic. Wikimedia Commons/Flickr

August 23, 2023

Accra’s most vulnerable residents were failed during COVID ‑ the government didn’t understand their realities

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona; Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University, and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Memphis

COVID-19-related support only reduced the negative impact of the pandemic on financial capital, and not on the other forms of capital

Research shows there is a lack of awareness among young people of the urban planning profession. Tim Robberts via Getty Images

July 25, 2023

Urban planning is often overlooked as a career – here are some ways to change that

Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Memphis; Danilo Palazzo, University of Cincinnati , and Leah Hollstein, University of Cincinnati

A project to upgrade a high school playing field led to a book on how to inspire more young people to pursue careers as urban planners.

Market fires cause significant upheavals in the heavily informal Ghanaian economy. Wikimedia Commons

May 29, 2023

Accra’s market fires are devastating to informal traders ‑ but they don’t trust or understand what they’re being told about managing risk

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona; Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University, and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Memphis

Fire risk communication strategies must not only be supported by formal institutions such as government agencies but also be rooted in and sensitive to each market’s socio-cultural dynamics.

Property address has long been a problem in Ghana Wikimedia Commons

November 22, 2022

Ghana digitised its address system: its failure offers lessons to other African countries creating smart cities

Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University; Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona, and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Memphis

Ghanaians aren’t using the new ‘smart’ street address system which was intended to improve service delivery.

A lot of Ghanaian settlements face social infrastructure deficits Wikimedia Commons

November 14, 2022

Ghana’s informal residents show how social innovation can solve urban challenges

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Memphis

Ghanaian urban and development planners need to move away from looking up to examples of innovations from the global north.

As African cities like Lagos in Nigeria become increasingly populated, climate change adaptation is key. Onome Oghene/EPA

April 25, 2019

How a Japanese system can help African cities adapt to climate change

Seth Asare Okyere, Osaka University; Matthew Abunyewah, University of Newcastle, and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Cincinnati

Urban adaptation to climate change is more effective where local citizens participate.

Reuters/Juda Ngwenya

August 7, 2016

When development becomes a curse: displacements and destroyed livelihoods

Clement Mensah, University of the Western Cape and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Cincinnati

Mega development projects can have a positive impact. But there are risks. Between 2004 and 2013, some 3.4 million people were ‘physically and economically displaced’ by World Bank projects alone.

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