Filetype
Crude oil is often argued to be a natural resource that holds the prospect of accelerated economic development, although the results are mixed. This paper explores how the discovery of crude oil is impacting on urban development, focusing in particular on urban green spaces in Sekondi-Takoradi, a growing oil city in Ghana. Representatives from institutions associated with the management of green s
Despite increasing research interest in the mobile telephony sector, only a few studies have devoted attention to informal businesses in the sector. Using qualitative field data collected on young mobile telephony entrepreneurs in Accra, this paper argues that despite the businesses being ‘informal’, they cannot be dismissed as ‘necessity’ enterprises unworthy of support. On the contrary, many you
The rapid expansion of the mobile telephony sector in African countries has been accompanied by the establishment of a wide range of informal support businesses, mostly run by young people. Little is known, however, about the lived experiences of young entrepreneurs working in this rapidly changing, technologically-driven sector. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in Accra, this paper explo
Existing research on urban Ghana mainly focuses on processes occurring within the country’s major cities, thereby reproducing a trend within the social sciences to overlook the role of intermediate and secondary cities. This paper aims to address this shortcoming by exploring spatial and social transformations in Sekondi–Takoradi, one of Ghana’s secondary cities and the metropolitan area serving t
Most research on issues of (in)security has tended to have a military/safety angle and focus on global/national scales linked to spectacular events. This paper addresses the overlooked insecurity realities of urban dwellers in the global South through a focus on more persistent and enduring forms of employment insecurities among young people. Building on both quantitative and qualitative data coll
During the past decade, there has been an increased focus on mobility in the social sciences linked to the so-called ‘mobility turn’, which claims that as mobility is so pervasive it should not be viewed as a rupture in society but as a normal way of life. This is certainly the case in urban contexts of sub-Saharan Africa where mobility forms an integral part of livelihood and income-generating ac
Despite the recent increased interest in female entrepreneurs, attention has tended to focus on dynamic individuals and generic incentives without considering the roles of gender and place in entrepreneurship. In this article, we draw on the notion of mixed embeddedness to explore how time-and-place-specific institutional contexts influence women's entrepreneurship. Drawing on primary data collect
Despite an increased focus on entrepreneurship as a means of promoting development, there has been limited discussion of the conceptual and methodological issues related to researching entrepreneurship in low-income countries. Drawing on experiences from Uganda, this paper presents a study of entrepreneurship conducted in a low-income settlement, which combined participatory quantitative and quali
An important topic in climate change discourse is the question of "climate refugees" and climate-related mobility, which is often presented as failed adaptation. This discourse feeds into, and reinvigorates, anti-mobility sentiments, especially concerning youth, among nongovernmental and governmental organizations that conceptualize mobility as involuntary and associated with social rupture. Chall
Young people in the global South are seeking employment opportunities in challenging economic and social environments. This paper provides an overview of current debates regarding youth employment, highlighting conceptualisations of youth and (un)employment, emerging youth employment trends and the nature of policies introduced to tackle youth (un)employment. It provides an overview of the six pap
Like many island people, Ontong Javans are always on the move to and from their gardens or the sea, between islands within the atoll, and to other localities both within and outside Solomon Islands. This article explores the nature of this mobility and the ways in which the spatial mobility of Ontong Javans is linked to their livelihood strategies and to social mobility. Building on both quantitat
This paper explores the changing role and place of handicrafts in contemporary rural development processes. Building on fieldwork conducted in four settlements in northern Thailand and Vietnam, we discuss how a traditional sector is being reshaped under the forces of globalisa- tion and what this means for the character of rural livelihoods. This empirical analysis permits us to reflect on wider a
Shrinking public sectors and limited opportunities for gaining formal wage employment in the private sector have resulted in entrepreneurship being promoted as a means of generating youth employment. This discourse is being widely promoted within sub-Saharan Africa despite little being known about how best to support youth employment and entrepreneurship. This paper focuses on two of the main trad
It is now widely accepted that the vast majority of inhabitants of cities in developing countries have to be involved in the construction of their houses if they are to become home-owners. During the construction process, most households will make payments for land, construction materials and skilled labour. This chapter analyses the different ways in which households finance these payments and fo
