Walking cities that are (un)walkable: exploring everyday lived realities in low-income neighbourhoods in Accra

Abstract

The urban majority in Africa do a great deal of walking, yet we do not fully understand the lived realities of the so-called captive walkers, who have no option but to walk. This study explores the everyday lived accounts of urban residents as they navigate the walking environment in two low-income neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana’s capital. The study adopted a qualitative approach drawing on 2 focus group discussions, 60 interviews with residents in the Dome and Accra Newtown neighbourhoods in Accra, and 10 institutional interviews. The findings show that residents viewed walking as a means of enhancing social relations, health, and spatial awareness. Lived accounts show that walking is stressful and dangerous because of the design and behavioral barriers in the walking environment. While highlighting the value of community-level responses to walking barriers, this paper calls for a more nuanced understanding of the everyday lived experiences of walking, reconsidering walkability challenges as intricately linked to, not separate from, urban development challenges and engaging captive walker perspectives as the basis for driving equitable and inclusive principles in the agenda for sustainable urban mobilities in Africa and Global South generally.