Slum or sustainable development? A case study of Sodom and Gomorrah in Accra, Ghana

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has been successful in demolishing a few slums in the City of Accra. However, Sodom and Gomorrah, also known to be a squatter and an illegal settlement in the City of Accra continues to prosper. This study examines the benefits and shortcomings of slums with specific reference to Sodom and Gomorrah and why it has avoided all demolition attempts by AMA. It also examines whether slums can be improved to promote sustainable urban development in Ghana. The researcher explored these issues with surveys which elicited the opinions and experiences of slum dwellers in Sodom and Gomorrah as well as neighboring high and middle income residents. The researcher also surveyed the views of opinion leaders who constituted the mouth piece of the squatters to further test for consistency of the responses of slum dwellers. City officials of the AMA and The Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) were also interviewed regarding the surrounding government's inability to demolish it, threats posed by the study area to city government, the benefits of the development and whether it should be demolished. As indicated, the need and relevance for this study emerges from the illegal status of the study area and its ability to escape all demolition attempts by city governments. Its flourishing nature and location in the urban hub of the capital city as well as proximity to the central business district compels further exploration regarding why Sodom and Gomorrah continues to prosper unabated.