The Landscape of Informality: A Comparative Study of Ga-Mashie (Accra, Ghana) and Kochi (Kerala, India) Kimberly Noronha

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Noronha, Kimberly, author.

Contributor:

University of Pennsylvania. City and Regional Planning., degree granting institution.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Urban planning.

Cultural anthropology.

Area planning & development.

0999.

0326.

0341.

Local Subjects:

Urban planning.

Cultural anthropology.

Area planning & development.

0999.

0326.

0341.

Physical Description:

1 electronic resource (489 pages)

Contained In:

Dissertations Abstracts International 86-12A

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 2025

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This study examines how urban informality operates at the urban-ocean interface in two distinct contexts: Ga-Mashie in Accra (Ghana) and Kochi (Kerala, India). Conceptualising a "landscape of informality" through which women in fisher communities navigate daily life, the research reveals how the state engages with informal actors through strategic ambiguity, provisional enforcement, and delegated authority. Rather than viewing informality as merely a condition of unplanned development, the study frames it as an actively produced relationship between state and citizen, explored from the perspective of those living within it.Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2018 and 2023, which included innovative remote photo-voice methodology, walking interviews, participatory mapping, and drone imagery, the analysis shows how women navigate the complex governance dynamics that span both land and sea. The study identifies three interconnected dimensions shaping the landscape of informality: boundary-making and control mechanisms that restrict women's mobility; adaptive resistance strategies through which communities assert spatial claims; and structural violence embedded in planning practices that systematically expose women to harm.The findings reveal contrasting models of informal governance operating through what this study calls abaeii (bureaucrats between state and street): Accra's exclusionary approach operates through aggressive spatial enforcement by City Guards/Task Force, while Kochi's incorporative model works through Kudumbashree, which simultaneously provides women institutional recognition while spatially containing their economic activities. Despite these differences, both systems maintain women in states of "legitimised liminality"-permanently uncertain about their status, rights, and protections.The study contributes to planning theory by reconceptualising these groups as urban-ocean communities whose knowledge and practices span the city-sea interface. It positions women as crucial knowledge brokers who interpret environmental change and climate impacts through daily observations. The research concludes by examining the implications for Marine Spatial Planning, advocating for approaches that bridge terrestrial and marine planning regimes while explicitly recognising women's ecological expertise and spatial knowledge.By centring the experiences of women in urban-ocean communities, this research demonstrates how effective planning must engage with rather than erase informality, positioning it not as a problem to be solved through formalisation but as the actual terrain of governance through which more just urban futures might be negotiated. The study identifies promising directions for future research, including expanding the comparative case approach to other rapidly urbanising coastal cities and developing negotiated governance models that incorporate the strengths of informal systems

Notes:

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 86-12, Section: A.

Advisors: Birch, Eugenie L. Committee members: Mitchell, Lisa; Ammon, Francesca

Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania 2025

Local Notes:

School code: 0175

ISBN:

9798280762244

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license