The Potential of Land Bank for Urban Renewal in the Obuasi Municipality
Keywords:
Land, Bank, Obuasi, Municipality, Acquisition, Urban renewalAbstract
This study investigated the transformative potential of a Land Bank for Urban Renewal within the Obuasi Municipality, Ghana. Grounded philosophically in the Evolutionary Theory of Property Rights and augmented by Systems Theory, the research established crucial linkages between the Land Bank concept, urban renewal processes, and their interaction with socio-economic variables like education and location. The study adopted a mixed method design that is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Questionnaire, interview guide and observation were used to collect data from 241 study participants. The findings from study indicated that a Land Bank can substantially resolve land acquisition issues by fostering market clarity, preventing duplicate sales, enhancing negotiation efficiency, improving access to reliable information, and promoting stakeholder harmony. Based on the findings, the study recommends comprehensive Land Bank implementation to effectively streamline land acquisition, integrating customary and statutory land tenure frameworks to minimize disputes and overlaps, and mandating a digitized land records system with a centralized database for enhanced transparency and fraud mitigation.
Downloads
References
Alexander, F. S. (2005). Land bank strategies for renewing urban land. Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law, 140-169.
Alexander, F. S. (2015). Land banks and land banking (2nd ed.). Center for Community Progress.
Alexander, F. S., & Powell, L. A. (2011). Neighborhood stabilization strategies for vacant and abandoned properties. Zoning and Planning Law Report, 34(8), 11-179. Accessed on 11/09/2020.
Amakye, K. G., & Ameyibor, M. Y. (2022). Understanding the challenges and nature of land administration in the Tamale Metropolis, Northern Region, Ghana. Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development, 8(2), 44-59.
Amanor, K. S. (2008). Sustainable development, corporate accumulation and community expropriation: land and natural resources in West Africa. Land and sustainable development in Africa, 127-158.
Aryeetey, E., & Udry, C. (2010). Creating property rights: Land banks in Ghana. American Economic Review, 100(2), 130-34. Accessed on 22/09/2020.
Asumadu, K. (2003). Reform of Ghana’s Land Tenure System. https://www.modernghana.com/news/112044/reform-of-ghanas-land-tenure-system.html
Asumadu, S., & Kwame, A. (2003). Land delivery for housing development in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Housing and Planning, 4(1), 27–41.
Basema, H., Bashaasha, B., & Nabanoga, G. N. (2023). Role of land banks in preserving cultural heritage sites. Journal of Cultural Geography, 40(1), 15–32.
Bawumia, M. (2010). Speech on land banks and regional development. Ghana Lands Commission Publications.
Binswanger, H. P. & Deininger K. (1993). South African land policy: the legacy of history and current options. World Development 21(9), 1451 – 1475.
Burrell, G., & Morgan, G. (1979). Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis. Aldershot, UK: Gower.
Busroh, F. F. (2017). Establishment of land bank institutions for strengthening national development. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(11), 720–732.
Busroh, F. F., & Santiago, F. (2017). The Establishment of Land Bank Institutions for Strengthening the National Development. International Journal of Civil Engineering & Technology, 8(11), 720-732
Busroh, Firman & Santiago, Faisal. (2017). The establishment of land bank institutions for strengthening the national development. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology. 8. 720-732.
Cleveland, H. (2005). Land banking and public policy: Tools for revitalizing America's neighborhoods. Urban Land Institute.
Cotula, L. & Toulmin, Caad Hesse, C. (2004). Land Tenure and Administration in Africa: Land tenure and resource access in Africa. London: IIED/FAO.
Cotula, L., Vermeulen, S., Leonard, R., & Keeley, J. (2007). Land grab or development opportunity? Agricultural investment and international land deals in Africa. IIED, FAO, & IFAD.
Crabtree-Condor, I., & Casey, L. (2012). The great land heist: How the world is paving the way for corporate land grabs. ActionAid.
Darwita, Arnelli. (2021). The Existence of Land Bank Institution in Supporting Land Procurement for National Development in Perspective of Indonesian Agrarian Law. Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization, 112, 159-169.
Davis, C.H., (1976). Issues in municipal public land. Ann. Reg. Sci. 10, 55-66 write name of journal in full.
Davis, P. (2007). Land banking and real estate development. Urban Land Journal, 66(5), 74–81
Dimuna, K. O. and Omatsone, M. E. O. (2010) Regeneration in Nigeria urban built environment. Human Ecology, 29(2) 141- 149.
Ecolum, V. C., & Emoh, F. I. (2010). Urban renewal strategies and sustainable development: A case study of Onitsha metropolis. Journal of Sustainable Development, 3(2), 276–284.
Egolum, C. C. Emoh, F. I. (2017). The issues and challenges of urban renewal in a developing economy. International Journal of Development and Economic Sustainability Vol.5, No.1, pp.32-44.
Ellen, I. G., Madar, J., & Weselcouch, M. (2018). The role of land banks in urban development. NYU Furman Center Policy Brief.
Fitzpatrick, S. (2009). Financing challenges in land banking initiatives. Land Policy Journal, 12(3), 122–139.
Fitzpatrick, R.W. (2009) Soil: Forensic Analysis. In: Jamieson, A. and Moenssens, A., Eds., Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester, 2377-2388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470061589.fsa096
Ganindha, R. (2016). Urgensi Pembentukan Kelembagaan Bank Tanah Sebagai Alternatif Penyediaan Tanah Bagi Masyarakat Untuk Kepentingan Umum. Arena Hukum, 9(03), 458.
Ganindha, M., Tjahjono, G., & Sutrisno, E. (2016). The land bank model for urban development in Indonesia. Journal of Indonesian Urban Studies, 4(2), 45–53.
Gardner, F. (2016). Land bank strategic planning. Planning for Sustainable Brownfield Redevelopment. Available Online at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-06/documents/r1_ct_land_bank_2016_summary_508_112816a.pdf
Glazer, N. (1965). The renewal of cities. Scientific American, 213(3): 200-220.
Hampton, K. (2006). Participatory approaches in urban development research. Urban Studies Journal, 43(1), 89–104
Hartvigsen, M. (2014) Land Reform and Land Fragmentation in Central and Eastern Europe. Land Use Policy, 36, 330-341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.08.016
Hartvigsen, M. (2014). Land mobility in a Central and Eastern European land consolidation context. Nordic Journal of Surveying and Real Estate Research, 10(1) 23-46.
Hill, M. R. 1984. Epistemology, axiology, ideology in sociology. Mid-American review in sociology, 9, 59-77.
Jasen, D. A., & Nayar, P. K. (2010). Postcolonialism: A Guide for the Perplexed. A&C Black.
Johnson, M. E., & Whang, S. (2002). E‐business and Supply Chain Management: An Overview and Framework. Production and Operations Management, 11(4), 413–423. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1937- 5956.2002. tb00469.x
Kasanga, K. (2003). Current Land Policy Issues in Ghana. In FAO, Land Reform, Land Settlement and Cooperatives, (3), 141-154.
Kasanga, K. and Kotey, N. (2001). Land Management in Ghana: Building on Tradition and Modernity. Available at https://www.iied.org/9002iied
Kay, J. E., Deser, C., Phillips, A., Mai, A., Hannay, C., Strand, G., Arblaster, J. M., Bates, S. C., Danabasoglu, G., Edwards, J., Holland, M., Kushner, P., Lamarque, J.-F., Lawrence, D., Lindsay, K., Middleton, A., Munoz, E., Neale, R., Oleson, K., ... Vertenstein, M. (2015). The Community Earth System Model (CESM) Large Ensemble Project: A community resource for studying climate change in the presence of internal climate variability. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 96(8), 1333–1349. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00255.1
Larbi, W. O. (2008). Compulsory Land Acquisition and Compensation in Ghana: Searching for Alternative Policies and Strategies, FIG/FAO/CNG International Seminar on State and Public Sector Land Management, Verona, Italy, September 9 – 10, 2008. Available at (http://www.fig.net/commission7/verona-fao-2008/papers/09-Sep/4-1-Larbi-pdf) [Accessed: 11 /11/2010].
Malinowski, B. (1929). The sexual life of savages in north-western Melanesia. London: Routledge.
Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MFA). (2021). Annual agricultural report for Obuasi Municipal Assembly. Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Ministry of Lands and Forestry (MLF). (1999). National land policy. Accra: Ministry of Lands and Forestry.
Ministry of Works and Housing. (2021). Ghana housing needs report. Accra: Government of Ghana.
Mum, J., & Drever, E. (1999). Using questionnaires in small-scale research. Scottish Council for Research in Education.
Mungkasa, O. (2016). Financial viability of land bank projects in Indonesia. Asian Urban Planning Review, 8(1), 33–47.
Nzimande, B. (2010). Skills development for sustainable livelihoods. South African Skills Development Report.
O’Brien, D. J. (2005). Managing land banks for urban redevelopment: Tools and strategies. Urban Affairs Review, 40(5), 706–733.
Parliamentary Working Group. (2020). Land Bank financial challenges. Retrieved at: https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/31108/
Parliamentary Working Group. (2020). Report on financing land reform and banking strategies. Ghana Parliamentary Papers.
Pennsylvania General Assembly. (2012). Act 153 – Land Bank Law. https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/HTM/2012/0/0153.HTM
Powell, R. A., & Single, H. M. (1996). Focus groups. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 8(5), 499–504.
Robson, A. J. (2001). The Biological Basis of Economic Behavior. Journal of Economic Literature, 39(1), 11–33. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.1.11
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research Methods for Business Students: Pearson Education.
Saunders, W. S. A., & Kilvington, M. (2016). Innovative land use planning for natural hazard risk reduction: A consequence-driven approach from New Zealand. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 18, 244–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2016.07.002
Thigpen, G. (2016). Land valuation model for land banks. Esri Geodesign Summit Europe. Retrieved July 13, 2024, from https://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/geodesign-euro16/papers/geoeuro_18.pdf
Trochim, W. M. K. (2006). The Qualitative Debate. Research Methods Knowledge Base. Retrieved November 17, 2024 http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualmeth.php
UNESCAP. (1993). Land administration: Guidelines with special reference to countries in transition. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), United Nations, New York.
Published on: 17-12-2025
Also Available On
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Abdul Waheed Farouk, Imoro Braimah, Charles Peprah, Eric Oduro-Ofori

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to this journal retain the copyright of their articles but agree to publish their articles under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that they indicate if changes were made. They may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses them or their use.
