Clifford Amoako
Department of PlanningLife SciencesSocial SciencesPhysical Sciences

Clifford Amoako

58 Publications16 Research Themes17 Open Access
Research Overview & Focus

The researcher has made significant contributions across multiple domains, focusing on themes such as urban development and disaster management, flood risk assessment, transport safety, environmental adaptation, and gender roles. Their work emphasizes the interconnected nature of these areas within social and physical sciences, highlighting key challenges and innovative approaches to addressing them.

Faculty Biography

Clifford Amoako (PhD) is a Professor of Urban Planning at the Department of Planning. As an urban planning academic and professional, Clifford is passionate about the development of African cities. He holds a PhD in Geography and Environmental Science from Monash University (Australia), MPhil and BSc (Planning) from KNUST. His current teaching and research activities are in urban planning and governance, informal urbanization, urban flood vulnerability; transportation planning and poverty reduction.Clifford has been involved in a number of international research collaborations. Notable among these includes, his involvement with The World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to evaluate Urban Resilience in Accra, Ghana. He was also involved in the Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation (DECCMA) project in Ghana; aimed at building the resilience of vulnerable populations in the Volta Delta. The project was funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). Prof. Amoako was also key in the SECO funded EPFL-KNUST Capacity Building in Urban Mobility and Transportation (CUMT) collaboration, which has produced a number of on-going research projects in urban transportation, and a master’s program in Transportation Planning at the Department of Planning, KNUST.For over 2 decades, Clifford has provided consultancy services in urban and rural transport planning, strategic regional development planning, social impact assessment (SIA) and resettlement action plans (RAP) associated with infrastructure projects and climate change impact studies. He has also been involved in environmental impact studies for projects being implemented by some international institutions including the European Union, World Bank and the UN Habitat. He has been involved with others in providing consultancy services in the planning and implementation of numerous development projects in Ghana and other West African Countries. The results of many of his research projects and consultancy services have been disseminated through academic papers and conference presentations. He has over 100 research and working papers and consultancy reports on urban planning issues to his credit.Prof. Amoako is a Fellow and former Vice President of the Ghana Institute of Planning (GIP). He is also a Member of the Commonwealth Association of Planners. Email: camoako.cap@knust.edu.ghORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9751-3037Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Clifford AmoakoAcademia.edu: https://knust.academia.edu/CliffordAmoakoGoogle Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=E7Js0xMAAAAJ&hl=en

Key Research Themes (16)
Life Sciences

Climate change impacts on agriculture

Social Sciences

Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration

Social Sciences

Complex Systems and Decision Making

Social Sciences

Disaster Management and Resilience

Physical Sciences

Flood Risk Assessment and Management

Social Sciences

Gender Roles and Identity Studies

Physical Sciences

Impact of Light on Environment and Health

Life Sciences

Land Rights and Reforms

Physical Sciences

Land Use and Ecosystem Services

Social Sciences

Local Government Finance and Decentralization

Social Sciences

Migration and Labor Dynamics

Physical Sciences

Mining and Resource Management

Social Sciences

Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development

Physical Sciences

Traffic and Road Safety

Social Sciences

Urban and Rural Development Challenges

Social Sciences

Urban Transport and Accessibility

Publications (58)

A fuzzy synthetic evaluation of transportation satisfaction among translocal migrants across Ghana’s urban spaces

2025Urban Transport and AccessibilityDOI: 10.1080/19376812.2025.2571571

Mobility dynamics of transmigrants and their implications on socioeconomic development: insights from the Nkoranza South municipality of Ghana

2025Migration and Labor DynamicsDOI: 10.1080/19376812.2025.2555851

Subjective or objective ideal housing? Determinants of housing choice of translocal migrants in the Ghanaian urban context

Open Access
2025Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106448

Managing the wet and dry – local adaptation mechanisms for climate change in the Tamale Metropolis, Ghana

Open Access
2025Climate change impacts on agricultureDOI: 10.36005/jplm.v4i1.81

Future-proofing cities against negative city mobility and public health impacts of impending natural hazards: a system dynamics modelling study

Open Access
2025Complex Systems and Decision MakingDOI: 10.1016/s2542-5196(25)00026-9

Motorcyclists’ Red-light Behavior at Signalized Intersections in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana

Open Access
2025Impact of Light on Environment and HealthDOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2025.05.043

Exploring the street economy in African cities: A review of practices, regulatory policies, and challenges of urban governance in Ghana

2024Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1080/07352166.2024.2410279

Residents’ Awareness and Attitude Towards Urban Wetlands in Accra, Ghana: Implications for Sustainable Urban Development

Open Access
2024Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.4314/just.v42i2.7

Transport investments and the changing space economy in Kumasi, Ghana

2024Urban Transport and AccessibilityDOI: 10.1016/j.cstp.2024.101162

Transportation and Translocality in the Era of Climate Change and Sustainable Development

2024Climate Change, Adaptation, MigrationDOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-69606-0_7

A view of migrant women's “right to the city” through the lens of translocality

2023Migration and Labor DynamicsDOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2023.104722

How informal ties matter: encroachment on road reservations along the Kumasi–Accra highway in Ghana

Open Access
2023Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.5130/cjlg.vi28.8260

Transportation–Translocality Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Implications for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development: A Systematic Review

2023Migration and Labor DynamicsDOI: 10.1007/s40890-023-00182-x

Shades of informality: taxonomy and operational characteristics of informal economic activities in central Kumasi, Ghana

2023Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1080/19376812.2023.2214796

Emerging resilience to urban flooding in low-income communities

2023Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementDOI: 10.1201/9781003160823-26

Informality and the politics of urban flood management

Open Access
2023Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementDOI: 10.1177/23996544231163739

Does the gender of nurses matter to patients? A qualitative analysis of gender preferences of patients

Open Access
2023Gender Roles and Identity StudiesDOI: 10.1177/20503121231182514

Living on the Edge: Coastal Erosion and Landlessness in Keta, Ghana

Open Access
2023Climate Change, Adaptation, MigrationDOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4451231

Customary land ownership and land use change in Kumasi: An issue of chieftaincy sustenance?

2022Land Rights and ReformsDOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106483

Urban governance and the implementation of major infrastructure projects in Kumasi, Ghana

2022Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1080/19376812.2022.2112717

The effectiveness of rumble strips installations in speed reduction along major highways in Ghana – The case of N1 highway

Open Access
2022Traffic and Road SafetyDOI: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2022.e01215

Survival now, sustainability later: the emerging artisanal mining and the dying agricultural livelihoods in the Akyem Abuakwa traditional area of Ghana

2022Mining and Resource ManagementDOI: 10.1007/s10668-022-02114-y

Effects of COVID-19 on Urban Mobility and Public Space Use in Kumasi, Ghana

2022Urban Transport and AccessibilityDOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-94350-9_55

Mobilizing Internally Generated Funds by Local Governments in Ghana

2022Local Government Finance and DecentralizationDOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-66252-3_4249

Resourcing local government in Ghana: the potential of volunteering to deliver basic services

Open Access
2021Tourism, Volunteerism, and DevelopmentDOI: 10.5130/cjlg.vi25.8040

Planning Corruption or Corrupting Planning?

Open Access
2021Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1080/01944363.2021.1987969

Spatial expansion and patterns of land use/land cover changes around Accra, Ghana – Emerging insights from Awutu Senya East Municipal Area

2021Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105796

The fate of urban wetlands in Kumasi: An analysis of customary governance and spatio-temporal changes

2021Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105787

Flood Responses and Attachment to Place Within Low-Income Neigbourhoods in Kumasi, Ghana

2021Disaster Management and ResilienceDOI: 10.1080/19376812.2021.1968445

The politics of artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASM) in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area of Ghana

2021Mining and Resource ManagementDOI: 10.1080/02589001.2021.1957791

Compliance, resistance and innovations: reflections of informal traders’ responses to kejetia redevelopment in central Kumasi, Ghana

2021Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1080/19376812.2021.1945466

Fire risks management in emerging Ghanaian cities: land use planning responses for siting petrol and gas stations in the Tamale Metropolis

2021Disaster Management and ResilienceDOI: 10.1007/s10708-021-10416-3

Mobilizing Internally Generated Funds by Local Governments in Ghana

2021Local Government Finance and DecentralizationDOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_4249-1

The geography of urban poverty in Kumasi, Ghana

2020Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102220

Spaces of market politics: Retailscapes and modernist planning imaginaries in African cities

Open Access
2020Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2020.102265

Climate Variability and Communities' Vulnerability along Ghana's Coastline

2020Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration

Becoming Vulnerable to Flooding: An Urban Assemblage View of Flooding in an African City

2020Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1080/14649357.2020.1776377

What the state does but fails: Exploring smart options for urban flood risk management in informal Accra, Ghana

Open Access
2020Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1016/j.cacint.2020.100038

Gender disparities in rural accessibility and mobility in Ghana

2019Urban Transport and AccessibilityDOI: 10.1016/j.cstp.2019.12.006

Urban travel patterns and safety among school children around Accra, Ghana

2019Traffic and Road SafetyDOI: 10.1016/j.jth.2019.100660

Planning by (mis)rule of laws: The idiom and dilemma of planning within Ghana’s dual legal land systems

2019Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1177/2399654419855400

Landscape Transformations in Rapidly Developing Peri-urban Areas of Accra, Ghana: Results of 30 years

Open Access
2019Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesDOI: 10.1515/geo-2019-0014

The changing face of Kumasi central, Ghana

2019Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.02.023

Complex twist of fate: The geopolitics of flood management regimes in Accra, Ghana

2019Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2019.02.006

Flood vulnerability and coping mechanisms around the Weija Dam near Accra, Ghana

2018Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementDOI: 10.1007/s10708-018-9939-3

From Gold Coast to Ghana: Changing political economy of mining towns

2018Mining and Resource ManagementDOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.011

From the seat of a traditional Kingdom to a Garden city: the socio-spatial politics of managing green areas in Kumasi, Ghana

2018Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1080/19376812.2018.1436076

Emerging grassroots resilience and flood responses in informal settlements in Accra, Ghana

2017Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1007/s10708-017-9807-6

The production of flood vulnerability in Accra, Ghana: Re-thinking flooding and informal urbanisation

2017Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1177/0042098016686526

Flood vulnerability and responses in urban informal communities in Accra, Ghana

2017Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.4225/03/58b7596de23ce

Brutal presence or convenient absence: The role of the state in the politics of flooding in informal Accra, Ghana

2016Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementDOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2016.10.003

Build as you earn and learn: informal urbanism and incremental housing financing in Kumasi, Ghana

2016Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.1007/s10901-016-9519-0

Dimensions of spatial inequalities in Ghanaian cities

Open Access
2015Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.5897/jgrp2014.0477

The three-dimensional causes of flooding in Accra, Ghana

2014Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementDOI: 10.1080/19463138.2014.984720

Urban Sprawl And The Loss Of Peri-Urban Land In Kumasi, Ghana

Open Access
2014Urban and Rural Development ChallengesDOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1090861

Urban Infrastructure Design and Pedestrian Safety in the Kumasi Central Business District, Ghana

2013Urban Transport and AccessibilityDOI: 10.1080/19439962.2013.861887

Regionalism and Urban Development Planning in Africa: Towards A Collaborative Framework for Decentralized Planning in Ghana

2013Urban and Rural Development Challenges

SLUM IMPROVEMENT IN THE KUMASI METROPOLIS, GHANA: A REVIEW OF APPROACHES AND RESULTS

2011Urban and Rural Development Challenges
Academic Metrics
DepartmentDepartment of Planning
Total Publications58
Research Themes16
Open Access Papers17

Department of Planning

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

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