Traditional Architecture and Gentrification in Kumasi Revisited
Keywords:
Traditional Architecture, Gentrification, Central Business District, Peri-Urban, Kumasi.Abstract
The crave for property and land for commercial as well as civic purposes has resulted in gentrification of old traditional buildings and public open spaces in the Central Business District (CBD) of Kumasi. This has been seen by many as an enhancement of the urban environment. The paper presents a follow-up study of traditional architecture and gentrification processes conducted along the Odum Precinct, Adum- Kumasi in 2005. The aim of the study is to access the impact of gentrification on the traditional architecture of the CBD of Kumasi. This study adopts qualitative methods to revisit and explore gentrification at the Odum Precinct and some principal streets of CBD of Kumasi. The study in 2005 revealed amongst others that the quest for local inhabitants to acquire and retain affordable housing in the CBD was threatened by the increase in rental prices and property value thereby increasing the plight of the low income earners in the CBD. The study revealed that a large number of the local inhabitants who happened to fall in the low income group were displaced to peri-urban areas of Kumasi. Again it was found that the gentrification processes involved complete demolishing of the traditional buildings rather than refurbishing or remodeling them and highlighted on the gentrified Kumasihene’s Palace.
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