Do informal urban communities in Ghana qualify as a 15-Minute City based on access to socioeconomic activities?

ABSTRACT

Access to services is a keystone of the 15-Minute City, an urban setup where residents can access basic services within 15-minutes of active transport from their homes. Whether Informal Urban Communities (IUCs) which are usually associated with negative connotations can qualify as a 15-Minute City is unknown. We investigated the extent to which IUC in Ayigya, Ghana satisfies this access condition. The findings show shorter travel durations and distances in reaching all selected activities. Underpinned by affordable travel costs, positive travel satisfaction, and walking as the largest modal share, Ayigya satisfies the 15-Minute City criterion of access to socioeconomic activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Access
• 15-Minute city
• informal urban community
• transport equity
• smart cities
• urban accessibility

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF) under the Mobility and Access in African Cities (MAC) [grant number EP-2021-MAC-03]. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations.