Proliferation, Transcalarity and Spatial Implications of Shopping Malls in African Cities: A Study Of Accra’s West Hills Mall, Ghana

Abstract

There has been a surge in shopping malls usually consisting of elegant and exotic architectural designs across many African cities reflecting what some scholars view as the continent’s growing middle class and deepening neoliberal globalization. This phenomenon has attracted research attention, especially narratives and analyses focusing on the socio-economic characteristics of customers of malls and customer experience value; adverse impact of malls on traditional retail structures (including informal retailing and traditional open-air markets); projections of images of modernity and centres for promotion of foreign consumables and their economic impacts (in terms of employment creation, wealth creation and poverty reduction). Other studies have also depicted shopping malls as grandeur and class-based in the context of low-income and relatively high poverty levels in African cities and, therefore, serving the consumption needs of the relatively few wealthy households. Yet, little research has been done on the transcalar nature of these investments and, more importantly, their spatial implications in African cities. Using the West Hills Mall, located in the western part of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) as a case study, we assess the proliferation of shopping malls in Ghanaian cities, the transcalar nature of these investments (how multiple actors with their technology, policy and financial resources are mobilized from diverse scales) and their spatial implications for urban territories and everyday life in large cities and metropolitan regions such as GAMA.