Mobility Disruptions in Accra: Recurrent Flooding, Fragile Infrastructure and Climate Change

Abstract

This paper analyzes the mobility disruptions experienced by urban residents in relation to heavy precipitation and flooding of roads. The empirical focus is Accra, Ghana, a rapidly growing African city with discernible challenges in its transport system and a longstanding history of recurrent flood hazards, which are likely to be exacerbated by climate change in the future. In a context where there is very little mobility data available from official sources, the paper utilizes data from a large mobility survey (n = 1053) conducted through in-person interviews in July–August 2021 in 10 selected neighborhoods in Accra’s sprawling periphery. The survey targeted economically active adults, who are travelling regularly in relation to their income-generating activities. The survey recorded respondents’ experiences with a wide range of mobility disruptions caused by heavy precipitation and water on the roads. The analysis of survey data is supplemented with insights from qualitative interviews with a range of local key informants (n = 75). The research illuminates the diversity of mobility disruptions experienced by Accra’s residents during and after heavy precipitation events and the adverse implications for livelihoods and access to markets and services. The results highlight that mobility disruptions related to heavy precipitation are an extremely commonplace experience for residents in Accra’s periphery, across a diverse collection of neighborhoods and across travel patterns and traveler characteristics. While existing research tends to privilege the most dramatic and disastrous flood events and the associated destruction of property, this research, however, draws attention to the somewhat under-researched topic of mobility disruptions to everyday activities and their implications for livelihoods and access to markets and services.