Of Containerization and Urban Development: Appropriating the Public Urban Space for Informal Business Operations in the Sunyani Municipality

Abstract

The use of shipping containers for various architectural purposes have gained prominence in recent years. In many developing countries containerized structures have transcended the use of shipping containers to encompass fabricated metal containers. Mainly, these fabricated metal containers are used to construct transportable factories, pop-up shops and retail centers, medical, temporal, and emergency shelters. Rapid urbanization in developing countries, driven in part by natural increase and rural-urban migration, coupled with unemployment and urban poverty is, however, resulting in the socio-economic appropriation of public urban spaces for street hawking and the construction of informal containerized shops along arterial roads. While these activities provide socio-economic opportunities for the teaming urban population, they also compromise the aesthetics of cities as they are sited haphazardly and without planning approval. They also suppress the resilience of cities to natural disasters such as floods and landslides. This study seeks to understand using Sunyani, a mid-sized growth and transition city, the effects of containerization on urban aesthetics, legibility, resilience and urban governance. The study employs mixed methods to collect data from owners of container shops, patrons of their businesses, members of the public and key informants using questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and observations for a nuanced understanding of the phenomenon. The findings will help shape urban policy on the development of temporal structures and help improve new spatial flows, and enhance relations between various urban activities, thereby leading to greater urban.