Planning and Governance of Mixed-use Development in an African City: The Case of Accra, Ghana

Mixed-use development (MUD) is widely promoted as a strategy for compact and integrated urban growth; however, its implementation in Sub-Saharan African cities remains inconsistent and under-examined. Focusing on Accra, this study examines how governance arrangements shape the translation of MUD from policy into practice. Using a mixed-methods approach, it combines content analysis of statutory planning documents, semi-structured interviews with planners, municipal officials, and developers, and spatial analysis of selected neighbourhoods. The findings show that although MUD is formally endorsed, regulatory frameworks provide limited operational guidance on density, land-use combinations, and design integration. Implementation is further constrained by institutional fragmentation, weak enforcement, and competing stakeholder interests. Consequently, MUD materialises through incremental and negotiated processes, producing uneven and inconsistent urban outcomes. The paper advances urban governance scholarship by demonstrating how regulatory ambiguity and fragmented institutional arrangements mediate planning outcomes in African cities. It reconceptualises MUD as a process contingent on governance and context, highlighting its implications for planning reform in areas that are rapidly urbanising.