A conceptual analysis of the role of human action theory in Sub-Saharan Africa urban land use planning

Gyau, KAB; Hammond, F; Booth, C; Lamond, J; Proverbs, DG; Bloch, R

Abstract

Urban land use planning literature is rife with research based evidence on the
exceptional failings of institutional urban land use planning in sub-Saharan Africa. These
failings reflect weaknesses of the conceptual foundations of sub-Saharan Africa urban
land use planning systems. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the treatise that
seeks to establish a conceptual understanding of the weaknesses of planning regimes in
the sub-region. It has been revealed that the failings of urban land use planning are
predictable and explainable from the viewpoint of human action theory.
Thus for planning policies in the sub-continent to achieve the desired aim, they
require incentives for developers and/or property owners. That is: (a) awareness and
conception of the relevance of planning policies by developers and/or property owners,
(b) positive difference between their valuation of planning policies and the resources
needed to meet requirements of the policies, and (c) availability of resources among
others.
The paper concludes that unless prospective land use plans are explicitly framed with
human action theory as its primary conceptual foundations, they are unlikely to produce
the desired outcomes, irrespective of the stringency of their enforcement mechanisms.

Citation

Gyau, K., Hammond, F., Booth, C., Lamond, J., Proverbs, D., & Bloch, R. (2011). A conceptual analysis of the role of human action theory in Sub-Saharan Africa urban land use planning. Journal of International Real Estate and Construction Studies, 1(2), 147-165

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Mar 26, 2019
• Journal: Journal of International Real Estate and Construction Studies
• Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 147-165