Resisting commodification of urban green spaces in secondary African cities: the political role of new commons

Urban green spaces in Africa’s secondary cities are rapidly declining and becoming exclusive. Although studies show that this decline and resulting inequities are mainly due to increased privatisation of urban resources under State and market forces, the commons, which focuses on community management without commodification logics, has received less attention. This article aims to analyse how the new commons (a resource upon which users co-create rules to ensure social inclusion) resist the enclosure of green spaces. Drawing on new institutionalism with insights from political ecology, we conceptualise the governance of urban green commons as a Localised Regulatory Arrangement, temporarily crystallising power relationships. We perform an ethnographic case study of a group of farmers in the greenbelt of the city of Wa, Ghana, relying on in-depth interviews, observation, field notes, and archival and policy analysis. Our findings show that groups of local farmers creatively mobilise old customary rules into local arrangements to protect green spaces from urban encroachment, orchestrated through institutional and strategic mechanisms. The paper argues that customary systems remain relevant for the governance of urban commons in pursuit of social sustainability, despite being neglected by urban development theorists, new commons literature and policymakers. We suggest that, to support the new commons in the long term, the commons need to establish a network with both statutory and traditional authorities, and pro-greening civil society. These conceptual and practical contributions to urban green space governance also advance urban commons scholarship on secondary cities in Africa and highlight strategies to make urban green spaces more inclusive and socially sustainable.