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Owusu Amponsah

Planning

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About

Owusu Amponsah is an Associate Professor in Planning and the Head of the Centre for Settlements Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He holds a PhD degree in Planning, a Postgraduate Diploma in Land Management and Informal Settlements Regularisation, a Master of Science Degree in Development Policy and Planning, and Bachelor of Science degree in Planning. His research and professional experiences have been in the areas of sustainable and inclusive city development, informal urbanism, and monitoring, evaluation and learning. He is particularly interested in the policy issues that shape these research areas. Not only are these experiences academic, he has and continues to leave visible footprints in industry and local communities through consultancy works and collaboration research projects.Owusu was the Coordinator of Postgraduate Programmes at the Department of Planning at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, a position he held from 2021 - 2024. From 2016 - 2018 and 2018 - 2020, he served as the Assistant Examinations Officer and Examinations Officer, respectively at the Department of Planning. Currently, he is the Chair of the Programmes' Accreditation Sub-Committee at the Faculty of Built Environment, College of Art and Built Environment. From 2020 to 2025, he served as a Member of the College of Art and Built Environment's Examinations Audit Committee. Prof. Owusu Amponsah was voted the Best Senior Member (Teaching Category) at the second edition of the College of Art and Built Environment's awards night in 2022. He took the Second Runner-Up position at the maiden event of the College's awards in 2020.Prof. Owusu Amponsah teaches Research Methods at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels, Policy Analysis and Housing Policy Development at the graduate level. He also teaches Housing Policy and Strategy and Rural Settlements Planning Workshop (Studio) 1 & 2 at the bachelor's level. Since August 2018 when he was promoted to the rank of a Senior Lecturer, Owusu has supervised the project works and theses of 84 students comprising 45 undergraduate students, 23 M.Sc. students, eight (8) MPhil students and eight (8) Ph.D. candidates. He is currently serving on the PhD supervisory committees of one student each at the University of Montreal and Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL). Owusu Amponsah is an External Examiner to the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Ghana and the Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He also moderates the courses offered by the Department of Planning at the Koforidua Technical University in Ghana.Owusu has authored over 95 research articles in international scientific journals (see: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Owusu_Amponsah?ev=hdr_xprf and https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=yIhsrcwAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate) and nine (9) popular science articles.  His research works are impacting the world of science and knowledge, typified in his citation counts on Scopus, ResearchGate, Google Scholar and all other notable platofrms. He has reviewed articles for highly-rated international scientific journals such as Sustainable Cities and Society, Habitat International, Land Use Policy, Cities, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Urban Forestry and Greening, and Waste Management, all of Elsevier.Owusu has consulted for a number of organisations including Expertise France on its Sustainable Cities Project - Phase 1, the University of Missouri Assistance Programme (UMAP), Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Solidaridad West Africa, Canadian Development Foundation, Canadian Cooperative Association, United Nations Development Program (Ghana and Senegal Country Offices), Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and the Millennium Villages Project. He was the team leader for the: 1) terminal evaluation of the Technical Education Development for Modernized Agriculture in Ghana (TEDMAG) project, 2) the baseline survey for the Character Education Development Initiative of the Kofi A. Tawiah Foundation (KATF) on Selected Schools in Ghana, 3) mid-term evaluation of the Solidaridad West Africa’s Next Generation Cocoa Youth Program (MASO), and 4) Newmont Ghana Gold Limited’s socio-economic baseline study of the households within the Awonso North Enclave Land Access and Resettlement Area. Prof. Amponsah also led the final assessment of the USAID-Ghana’s Improving Productivity and Incomes of Maize Farmers in the SADA Region (USAID-IPIMFS) Activity.He was the Co-Principal Investigator for the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada (CFC) and SEND-Ghana’s Environmental Sustainability Assessment for the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program (4R-NSP) and for its environmental strategy for the Food Security through Cooperative in Northern Ghana (FOSTERING) project. He was also the Co-Principal Investigator for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Coalition of Urban Transition’s (CUT) project on 'stock-taking the successes and failures of the National Urban Policy in Ghana and a Research Assistant for the final assessment of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF)'.Owusu is open to collaboration with researchers and academics, industry players and development partners in the areas of monitoring, evaluation and learning; informal urbanisation and sustainable cities. He believes that collaboration is a way to learn from others to enhance his work.

Research Summary

(inferred from publications by AI)

The researcher's work integrates themes of urban development challenges, land use implications, and environmental health issues across various domains. The focus on urban agriculture and its effects on land use highlights how farming activities influence spatial planning and sustainable practices. Additionally, the integration of water management practices underscores their impact on health and well-being. Land use and ecosystem services delve into the role of green spaces in contributing to food security and ecological balance, while addressing issues related to rapid urbanization's impact on health. These areas collectively demonstrate how urban challenges and environmental management intersect across various domains, offering a comprehensive view of Ghanaian sustainability efforts.

Research Themes

All Papers

A review of the role of urban agriculture in the sustainable city discourse(2019)
A review of practices for sustaining urban and peri-urban agriculture: Implications for land use planning in rapidly urbanising Ghanaian cities(2019)
The policy implications of urban open space commercial vegetable farmers’ willingness and ability to pay for reclaimed water for irrigation in Kumasi, Ghana(2016)
Urban parks under siege: the politics and factors influencing park rezoning and decline in urban Ghana(2022)
Securing the future of urban agriculture: Legislative reform and planning for sustainability in sub-Saharan African cities(2025)
Global urban sprawl containment strategies and their implications for rapidly urbanising cities in Ghana(2022)
Locational analysis of slums and the effects of slum dweller’s activities on the social, economic and ecological facets of the city: insights from Kumasi in Ghana(2020)
Informality-sustainable city nexus: The place of informality in advancing sustainable Ghanaian cities(2021)
Causes and Effects of Frequent and Unannounced Electricity Blackouts on the Operations of Micro and Small Scale Industries in Kumasi(2012)
Exploring the effects of rapid urbanization on wetlands: insights from the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana(2021)
A view of urban sprawl through the lens of family nuclearisation(2022)
Urbanization against ecologically sensitive areas: effects of land use activities on surface water bodies in the Kumasi Metropolis(2022)
Urban informalities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A solution for or barrier against sustainable city development(2021)
A review of experimental informal urbanism initiatives and their implications for sub-Saharan Africa's sustainable cities’ agenda(2022)
Rethinking sustainable urban management: Effects of urbanization on the socio-spatial structure of the Tamale Metropolis(2023)
Spatio-temporal analysis and level of awareness of Ghana’s buffer regulations on ecologically sensitive areas: lessons from the Kumasi Metropolis(2023)
Sustainable functional roles of ecologically sensitive areas in the Greater Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana: exploring local perceptions and attitudes from a socio-economic purview(2023)
Insouciant, powerless or helpless: An assessment of the factors that contribute to the non-compliance with the regulations that protect ecologically sensitive areas in the Greater Kumasi Metropolis(2023)
The jugaad urbanism-sustainable circular cities nexus: Insights from sub-Saharan Africa's informal settlements(2025)
Land governance in Ghana and its implications for inclusive city development(2022)
Urban planning failure in the protection of ecologically sensitive areas: factors that contribute to the ineffective management of ecological resources in Kumasi(2024)
Participatory incremental slum upgrading towards sustainability: an assessment of slum dwellers’ willingness and ability to pay for utility services(2017)
The role of city authorities in contributing to the development of urban slums in Ghana(2012)
Space use in Central Business District of emerging economies: Regulation or rationale?(2023)
The effects of urban sprawl on the livelihoods of settler communities: lessons from selected municipalities in Ghana(2023)
Making a living out of illegality: effects of street vending on the livelihoods of street vendors in the central business district of Accra(2023)
Exploring the street economy in African cities: A review of practices, regulatory policies, and challenges of urban governance in Ghana(2024)
Planning in Ghana: analysis of the various forms of professional misconduct from the perspective of professional planners(2024)
Urban sprawl, urban form, and urban land use pattern: examining urban planning response to the causes and effects of urban sprawl in Kumasi, Ghana(2024)
Subjective or objective ideal housing? Determinants of housing choice of translocal migrants in the Ghanaian urban context(2025)
The culture of maintenance of public housing units in a less urbanised town in Ghana(2018)
Achieving sustainable cities: analysis of the factors that influence compliance with telecommunication masts siting standards in Ghana(2022)
From informal settlements to environmentally sustainable communities: Lessons from Kumasi(2022)
Spatiality of urban sprawl in the Greater Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana: a spatio-temporal analysis(2024)
The place of translocal networks in inclusive city development: A systematic review(2024)
Situating the compliance with land use regulations within the context of sustainable city development: Lessons from Ho Municipality of Ghana(2025)
Non-compliance with planning regulations and their implication for the achievement of the sustainable development goals: insights from physical planners in the Ashanti Region of Ghana(2025)
Advance rent payment and its influence on access to housing by the urban poor(2025)
Investigating the purposefulness of development planning in Ghana through a political economy lens(2024)
Correction to: Investigating the purposefulness of development planning in Ghana through a political economy lens(2024)
Practices in Central Kumasi: Inherent or Objective?(2024)
Access politics in an emerging economy: evidence from central Kumasi(2025)
Capital city functions and sustainable city nexus: Sustainability analysis of major regional capital cities in Ghana(2025)
Garden city without parks: an assessment of the availability and conditions of parks in Kumasi(2020)
The fate of urban green spaces: Assessment of the ownership, availability and conditions of parks in Accra, Ghana(2023)
Tragedy of urban green spaces depletion in selected sub-Sahara African major cities(2023)
The functionality of urban green spaces in the greater Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana: categorisation of green spaces, prospects, challenges and implications for sustainable management(2025)
The Role of Green Spaces in the Sustainability Discourse: Lessons from the City of Kumasi(2022)
Examining the Relationship Between Demographic Characters of Green Space Users and the Categorization of Green Spaces(2022)
An overview of Ghana’s educational system and its implication for educational equity(2019)
The effects of multi-track year-round education on the delivery of senior high school education in Ghana. Lessons from global MT-YRE systems(2019)
Climate change resilience: lessons from local climate-smart agricultural practices in Ghana(2020)
Urbanizing with or without nature: pollution effects of human activities on water quality of major rivers that drain the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana(2021)
A system view of smart mobility and its implications for Ghanaian cities(2018)
Sustainable adoption of smart homes from the Sub-Saharan African perspective(2020)
Solid waste management in informal urban neighbourhoods. Occupational safety and health practices among tricycle operators in Kumasi, Ghana(2019)
From engineered landfill to uncontrolled dumpsite: situational analysis, extent of buffer zone encroachment and challenges of the Oti Landfill, Kumasi, Ghana(2024)
Perception of Small-Scale Miners on Interventions to Eradicate Illegal Small-Scale Mining in Ghana(2020)
Traffic safety violations in relation to drivers’ educational attainment, training and experience in Kumasi, Ghana(2015)
Stakeholders' willingness and motivations to support sustainable water resources management: Insights from a Ghanaian study(2020)
Resilience to climate change in Ghanaian cities and its implications for urban policy and planning(2021)
Patterns of land use, crop and forest cover change in the Ashanti region, Ghana(2019)
“Going Green” Rhetoric or Reality: An Assessment of the Prospects and Challenges of Ghana’s Youth in Afforestation Programme(2021)
The motivation for community participation in forest management: the case of Sefwi-Wiawso forest district, Ghana(2018)
Location of forest reserves and sustainable natural resource management: evidence from a Ghanaian case study(2022)
Pathways to just conservation: A crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis of environmental defender mobilization in conservation conflicts(2025)
Assessing the practicality of the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines to the urban poor in the Ghanaian context(2020)
Mining-induced displacement and resettlement in Ghana: an assessment of the prospects and challenges in selected mining communities(2023)
The dilemma of flood occurrence in Accra: climate change or poor land use planning and practices?(2022)
Building resilience to flood risks via green space planning in urban Ghana(2023)
Role of social capital in agricultural diversification: Implications for sustainable development in rural regions(2024)
Commercial Charcoal Production and Sustainable Community Development of the Upper West Region, Ghana(2012)
Gender differences and productive use of energy fuel in Ghana’s rural non-farm economy(2020)
Energy Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa(2014)
Assessing low quality water use policy framework: Case study from Ghana(2015)
The effectiveness of the local management systems of rural water facilities for sustainable service delivery: a case study of the Sekyere East District, Ghana(2016)
Poverty Penalty in Urban Water Market in Ghana(2017)
The impact of farmers’ participation in field trials in creating awareness and stimulating compliance with the World Health Organization’s farm-based multiple-barrier approach(2015)
Stakeholder collaboration and irrigation practices in Ghana: issues, challenges, and the way forward(2021)
Assessing drivers of post-harvest losses: tangible and intangible resources’ perspective(2021)
Sustaining Ghana’s cocoa sector through environmentally smart agricultural practices: an assessment of the environmental impacts of cocoa production in Ghana(2019)
Creating eco-consciousness from the perspective of students: an assessment of the level of environmental literacy among students in Kumasi(2023)
Restoring the school garden programme in Ghana: an exploration of the key issues from the past and implications for the future(2021)
A view of migrant women's “right to the city” through the lens of translocality(2023)
Social interactions in periodic urban markets and their contributions to sustainable livelihoods: Evidence from Ghana(2023)
An assessment of regulatory compliance and residents’ perceptions of the siting of telecommunication masts: Insights from a rapidly urbanising Ghanaian city(2021)
Assessing the level of compliance of telecommunication masts to locational planning standards towards harmonious and orderly city growth(2021)
Social Accountability for Local Government in Ghana(2013)
A View of Commercial Motorcycle Transportation in Sub-Saharan African Cities Through the Sustainable Development Lens(2022)
Spatial location of fuel retail outlets and their level of compliance with regulations: lessons from the Kumasi Metropolitan area(2024)
Unveiling Ghana's urban tapestry: satellite-based analysis of Tamale city's spatial expansion and land surface temperature (LST) dynamics(2024)
For or against sustainable development? A geospatial analysis of the state of green space ecosystems in West Gonja, Ghana(2025)
Why are ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) in African cities encroached on? Unveiling the encroachers' outlook(2025)
Toward sustainable ecotourism development: an assessment of the benefits and environmental threats of Lake Bosomtwe ecotourism facility(2019)
Potentials of Cellular Phone Technology for Local Economic Development in the Offinso Municipality, Ghana(2015)
Sustaining Ghana’s cocoa sector through smart agricultural practices: an assessment of the environmental impacts of cocoa production in Ghana(2021)
Non-Farm Economic Activities of Women and Household Food Security(2022)
Beyond just politics and space: A literature review(2023)
Seasonal variations in meat quality of (Large white x Landrace) x Hampshire pigs reared in agroforestry and grassland systems(2025)
Relative influence of production system and post mortem ageing on meat quality of pigs from agro-forestry, grassland and conventional indoor production systems(2025)

Collaboration Network

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About This Profile

This profile is generated from publicly available publication metadata and is intended for research discovery purposes. Themes, summaries, and trajectories are inferred computationally and may not capture the full scope of the lecturer's work. For authoritative information, please refer to the official KNUST profile.