Fwd: Open spaces in ACCRA

[Mr. Ampaabeng]

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Mr. Ampaabeng" <kwek...@hotmail.com>
Date: February 3, 2012 7:28:58 PM GMT
To: "the-urban-...@googlegroups.com" <the-urban-...@googlegroups.com>
Cc: The Urban Platform of Ghana <the-urban-...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Open spaces in ACCRA

Mark,
Good you identify possible open spaces for development into parks.
However let's consider the following:

1.Ownership issues......who own these lands( Children's park being the exception)
2.how do these locations tie into the master plan of the immediate environs if any?

Let leadership and responsible technocrats show us at least an INTENT in the form
of a MASTER DEVELOPMENTAL plan for Accra over the next say, 20 years..

For me that is really the genesis  of everything.
That way ,we all have a reference point from which we can begin to discuss the feasibility or otherwise of the plan,buying into it as we go along ....everything else is just adding to the ad hocism  that has bedeviled this entire system called Ghana.

Good job we are doing but ,let's start by pushing for a master plan,growth and expansion plan,implementation plan,funding sources etc.
We need to know how much it's going to cost to have a modern capital that can rival say Abidjan,Nairobi,Pretoria or Durban over a 20 year period.

What about regeneration,rezoning....
Must GBC occupy all that area of land when it can be accommodated in a single block?
Must Burma Camp Continue to be where it is?
What do we do with James Town and Paladium?
Osu,Nyaniba,Awudome etc..
What happened to mixed use high rise inner city development?
Unbearable traffic fueling the rat race phenomenon,with it's associated low productivity..
Why must Accra mall have a single level free parking...takes you forever to get out of there?
Why do we still do free off street parking?

While at it,let's do another one for Takoradi and Kumasi...
If you fail to plan,you plan to fail..

Cheers.


Sent from my iPad

On Feb 3, 2012, at 12:36 AM, The Urban Platform of Ghana <oksa...@googlemail.com> wrote:

Tony,

We just don't have an attitude that wlecomes vacant / open space

whether we are public or privae sector. NTHC is filling up all the

open spaces in your former neighbourhood. Regimanuel has completed

building up remaining open space in its enclave close to Ampaabeng's

residence. TDC is selling all the lands along the channels of the

Sakumo stream running through C18 and 19 with abandon. In the next 10

years, urban Ghana will be experiencing very high levels of obesity

and respiratory diseases. mark my words. Then we will vote on which

party can get the loans quickest from Fenando Po to build the

hospitals where the doctors can gain employment in order to go on

strike.

On Feb 2, 10:35 am, "Tony Asare" <tony.as...@tektonconsult.com> wrote:

Ohene,

Five of us did a group work on Urban parks in 2007 at Human Settlement

Management Institute (HSMI), New Delhi, India. The group was made up of

myself and the following:

1. Planner from Oman

2. City Engineer from Bhutan

3. Architect from El Salvador

4. Architect from Honduras

Thanks,

Tony

-----Original Message-----

From: the-urban-...@googlegroups.com

[mailto:the-urban-...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Cobblah, Mark

Kofi

Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 10:19 PM

To: the-urban-...@googlegroups.com

Cc: j...@ladentsconsulting.com

Subject: Re: Open spaces in ACCRA

Ohene,

Thanks for your study and your views as well.

Infact, the level of tourism alone that this nature of developments at

the Airport City is killing, we can never imagine.

The opportunity to mix open spaces with street architecture,

sculptures, street arts, pavements and lawns, fountains, together with

shops, bars, cafe's, restaurants, high street shops and boutiques,

sale  of gifts and Ghanaian artefacts and paraphernalia, etc,  and

after-hours night outs and weekend breaks. People sightseeing and

visiting for leisure or respite. One can only imagine this.

These are all lost at one time and only beautiful buildings hanging

there. I am even alarmed when all these buildings become fully packed.

The level of human and vehicular traffic will be intriguing.

My worry is that, the same mistake is happening at the Ridge Square /

British Council perimeters as well as springing areas such as Tetteh

Quarshie enclaves.

Thanks.

MARK

On 2/1/12, K. Ohene Sarfoh <oksar...@googlemail.com> wrote:

Did someone say Airport city? I just started a small study of the

developments (or better still the chaos in development) there last Friday.

I am calculating the (single level) car parking space as the opportunity

cost of recreation and circulation space not accommodated. If you work in

Silver Towers and want to meet someone at Holiday in, how long will it

take

you to walk there for your meeting?

I am of the firm belief that if we create open spaces, we will fill them

with containers in less than 2 years.

Ghana, eishhhh

On 1 February 2012 11:51, Bernard Appiah Gyebi <bgy...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Nice one! Such influences are what we need. Please, keep reminding the

minister every now and then so he doesn't let it 'fall through the

cracks'

Cheers

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2012 11:20:45 +0000

Subject: Re: Open spaces in ACCRA

From: cobb...@gmail.com

To: the-urban-...@googlegroups.com

Thanks Tony for this response.

I am excited about your comment on the Tema-Accra Motorway and the

Kasoa-Mallam Roads and the fact that we do not treasure urban parks and

naturally green environments.

I have once enquired why the green grassing around the Tetteh Quarshie

Interchange, The Flagstaff House, etc never become a green grass even

though almost each day there are gardeners working on them. I compared

this

to few places like the US Embassy, the Dutch Embassy, the Church of

Christ

building where the grass are always in good shape without too much

hassle.

I am sure that they have been serious monies paid to contractors to get

these grasses become green grass but no results.

Anyway, this is just by the way.

Back to the Motorway and the like, I managed to fire a short email to a

list of Cabinet Ministers including the Road Minister regarding the

latest

developments on the motorway and if they will ignore the inner lanes

after

it being dug. I got a surprise response from* Hon. Ahwoi *below. Hope you

will love to read it.

*

*

*Mark,**

****

**Thank you for your observation and recommendation which I endorse

totally. I trust that my colleagues, the twin Joes will take your points

seriously and undertake concurrently the motorway lighting and

landscaping

development. The landscaping can be contracted out to a professional

landscaping company and be made to manage permanently. We see such

beautiful and pleasant road sights in Malaysia, China, Brazil and South

Africa. Ghana under our watch can also do it. Yes we can. **

****

**Kwesi Ahwoi**

**

****

=========================================================================== =

==============================================

*From: bettergh...@hotmail.com

To: joegid...@yahoo.com

CC: musten...@yahoo.com

Subject: Beautiful works on the Tema Motorway

Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:50:44 +0000

Dear Honourable,

It is good to see new critical and beautiful developments at the Tema

Motorway . Though the previous government had done its fair share of

putting up street lights at the Tema Motorway, it did not amount to

anything.

One can now see well mounted and artistically planned streetlights

shooting up which tells that a good job is underway.

Another major thing is that, as all the developments are underway, there

should not be an oversight that there should be a* landscaping* of the

inner perimeters. At least the weeds in the inner perimeter could be

seriously cleared. I can foresee that the dugged out soil in the ground

would be left unattended to at all cost.

If the landscaping is done, Honourable, it will save us millions from

constant weeding and clearing of the bush from end to end as well as add

beauty to the Motorway. Further on, the landscaped inner perimeters could

also be well grassed and if that could be costly, at least, some gravels

and chippings could be used to decorate the inner perimeters.

In short, this will give a full and clear evidence to people in Ghana

that

after all after over several decades years of putting up the Motorway, it

took NDC to help put it to a befitting status after all.

I attach a photo of Tema Motorway which I found on a website.

Thank you, Sir.

Best rgds

MARK

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======================

On Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 10:49 AM, Tony Asare

<tony.as...@tektonconsult.com>wrote:

Kwaku,

I have attached the satellite image of Adjiringano area where JJ lives

and

I would not be too far from saying it is an ambassadorial enclave leading

to possibly the most expensive residential area in Accra, Trassaco

Estates.

The major green area you see is the trail of pylons. The rest are

uncompleted sites.

I rest my case. I will submit some work I have worked on some 4years ago

that a leading politician described me as a dreamer.

Have a good day.

Tony

*From:* the-urban-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:

the-urban-...@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Mr. Ampaabeng

*Sent:* Wednesday, February 01, 2012 7:29 AM

*To:* Mr. Ampaabeng

*Cc:* the-urban-...@googlegroups.com

*Subject:* Re: Open spaces in ACCRA

Tony,

Interesting part of the world we live..isn't it?

Voicing of opinions are sometimes labelled as "Lamentations.."

Express perssimism and "Defeatist" will be your tag!

You criticize,you belong to the opposing political party..

I weep for our kids and the generation unborn.

We are all in this together.

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 1, 2012, at 7:10 AM, "Mr. Ampaabeng" <kweku...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Tony,

you got my ribs cracking this morning......and you made my day even

before

it began.

Keep hope alive!

Regards.

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 1, 2012, at 6:04 AM, "Tony Asare" <tony.as...@tektonconsult.com>

wrote:

Mark,

It is interesting that you sound optimistic when it comes to development

of open spaces. For now the only spaces that seems to be guaranteed of

are

spaces under high tension lines. If you have noticed even the space right

under the runway at Kotoka International Airport just across the motorway

has been allocated (possibly by some chief not town and Country Planning)

for construction and that point is less than a kilometer from touchdown

of

or aircrafts for 9 months of the year.

Two years ago the Joy fm family fun day started and as usual it was like

mass hysteria; the patronage was high and the marketing deals took center

stage and now it has become an annual affair. Families look up to the

day.

I spoke to Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and drawing his attention to the larger

picture that the lack of communal parks for recreation was also key to

the

reason why this programme succeeded. He agreed and that was the end of

the

discussion.

There are pertinent issues that make me less optimistic about the future

of public open spaces in our planning regimes. I want us to ponder over

the

following:

a.       Airport City project was planned and what was the open spaces

left after the level of densification we are developing. This is a

flagship

project in Ghana.

b.       How have we managed the open areas that exists in Accra e.g.

Sutherland Park, Kimbu Gardens, The Independence Arch Area, Osu and

Awudome

cemeteries, Achimota Forest Reserve, motorway reservation.

c.        Have we noticed that in most new settlements areas left as open

spaces are almost non-existent?.....East Legon, West Legon, Haatso,

spintex

road,..as for Western Accra the least said about it the better.Awoshie,

Gbawe, etc

d.       We have not been able to legislate landuse and the insistence of

the creation of urban open areas and parks.

e.       What is the nature of street furniture that take the urban

user's needs into consideration? Street lighting, seating, dust bins, bus

sheds, aggregation of signage etc.

f.         As a people we

...

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Urban Parks_Group work presented to HSMI, new Delhi, India.pdf

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[Mr. Ampaabeng]

[Mr. Ampaabeng]

When Lee Kwan Yew decided to Green Singapore,he had his people buy into it,

and they lived it! Same way Operation feed yourself caught on like wildfire in the 70s.

He appointed the best hands in the business to handle it:not party faithfuls or chronies..They researched plants based on the soil type,they planted,tended and it flourished.They continue to do same till date. 

There were problems along the way;he once observed from his office window a herd of cattle gulping away his pet project..what was his response?An ultimatum issued to all cattle owners to remove them or have them confiscated and slaughtered to feed the needy...

When he built 10-20 storey apartment blocks,he was shocked to see tenants board lifts with sheep and goats!

Moral lesson being,these people are no different from us.It takes vision,planning,implementation,evaluation,re evaluation.

I am fully aware of the political arguments against his tactics and his regime in general.

However,it is noteworthy that his PAP party won successive elections..

Whatever is,I think there are positive lessons to be drawn from that whole Singaporean experience.

From Third World to First..a must read for every built environment professional and all who wish Ghana well.

Cheers.

Sent from my iPad

[Cobblah, Mark Kofi]

Yes, I made a critical observation on this forum sometime back about the troubles to find one's way to the Alliance Francaise if one is to walk from 37 intersections and bus stops down to Opeibea before making it to Alliance Francaise itself.

This tells how we have BLOCKED all open and public spaces. I am waiting to see one day when all those places become filled up with structures and buildings.  You will realize that every corner of the landscape is blocked up. Walking around the city itself will be a nightmare. We will all be walking on the streets to access one building after the other and no where else. Why can't these people come together and share their spaces or integrate their buildings with good landscapes.

A perfect example is attached. Even in the 19th Century Britain, they saw the need to create open spaces for human traffic in the city.

In Ghana, there is such a similar success story. This is the entire Business District of Accra (Makola and its environs) and also the Ministry's area. There is enough walkways and public spaces in between buildings eventhough they are not well laid, landscaped or paved. 

Why is that in 21st Century Ghana, there is total BLOCKADE among buildings and city centres.

Thanks

MARK

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