Of the dream city to come: urban planning and planning education in Ghana

Abstract

The paper discusses the origins of planning education in Ghana and the various theoretical debates and training philosophies that have shaped planning to the point as it is taught and practiced today. The Ghana case study explores the training philosophy that emphasizes an all-round planning education in both the design and policy aspects of planning. It also illustrates the legacy of colonial planning education, the ability of planning to respond to the contextual issues and paradigm shifts, a strong relation between planning education and planning institutions, and the benefits of north-south cooperation among educational institutions. The extent to which the availability of resources can facilitate or hinder planning education and practice, the inability of the planning system to respond swiftly to planning issues is also explored in the paper. Set within the context of Kumasi where the planning school is located, the paper calls for the need to develop the capacity of planning educators, involve professional associations and bodies in the reshaping of curricula, and the allocation of funds both at the governmental level and at the University level to support planning education.