Cultures, Communities and Design

Abstract

Urban informality refers to human practices and activities that are largely unregulated and unbound by civic laws. And while an extensive body of research examining the many facets of informality in the Global South exists, informal networks and systems in the Global North remain largely undocumented. In both locations however, informality exists as an expression of citizen agency. Further, informal expressions in both regions, whether economically or socially motivated, offer insight into the priorities, politics, and power relationships operating in the background of any urban space. Claiming agency over highly-regulated spaces in cities, thereby asserting and reclaiming space outside a capitalist system of property ownership, is as much a response to authority– its control, its indifference, its failures, or its irrelevance – as it is a tool of personal empowerment. The similarities between the motivations propelling informal activities between two cities, Kumasi, Ghana, and Calgary, Canada are explored in this research. While superficial cultural differences are expressed, the reality is that informality – the need to operate on the periphery of established systems – is seemingly universal. This project is a partnership between the Department of Planning at the College of Art and Built Environment at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana and the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary, Canada.