Researching the past and present-day uses of Jackson Park in Kumasi, Ghana.

Kumasi is the second city of Ghana, with two-million inhabitants and is home to the Asante kingdom. Ghana is urbanising rapidly and currently has more than half of its population living in cities.  In the middle of the city, Jackson Park is an open public park, created in 1935.  It has served a number of functions over the years – colonial staging ground, football pitch, market – and has played host to different groups – government officials, the neighbourhood Muslim community, hawkers, preachers, politicians, students.  

Urban planning visions in Ghana, and beyond give little space for this sort of older, open, mixed-use space. Government policy imagines parkland as something green, set apart, and available for those interested only in leisure activities. In Kumasi, the sort of site Jackson Park represents, with its mix of funerals, hawkers, political rallies, prayers, rough sleepers are seen as outdated. It is also regarded by the municipal government as a poor relation to the growing number of private “pay-for park” spaces, where access is limited to those paying an entrance fee and where the focus is on building up a middle-class clientele and recouping public investment.

Over the course of the project we are learning about Jackson Park in the language, memories and activities of those who use it: the hawkers, preachers, local politicians, families, traders.

The different uses of Jackson Park are studied through three interlinked studies: ‘Getting Votes’, ‘Getting Notices’ and ‘Getting by’.

The first study ‘Getting Votes’ investigates how ordinary citizens encounter politicians and other political actors in the context of Jackson Park. In particular, we are interested in establishing the historical significance of Jackson Park as Ghana moved from colonial rule to independence.  ‘Getting Noticed’ focuses on the socio-cultural and entrepreneurial uses of Jackson Park looking at how actors as diverse as business people, sport associations, NGOs, churches, and musicians use the park in the past and present. ‘Getting By’ looks at present-day users of the park, including coconut sellers, petty-traders and rough sleepers who use Jackson Park as a way of making a living.  These poorer users are often seen as a nuisance in planning visions or development proposals.

The project is a partnership between Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the University of East Anglia and the University of Copenhagen, and mentors three early career Ghana-based researchers.

The project runs from 2021-2023 and is funded by the British Academy and the Global Challenges Research Fund.

The Team

  • Eugenia Ama Breba Anderson


    Eugenia is feminist historian and lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Eugenia recently completed her PhD on gender and student activism in Ghana also at KNUST.

  • Prof. Karen Lauterbach


    Karen is Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the University of Copenhagen. Karen has an interdisciplinary background in African Studies, history, cultural geography and development studies.

  • Manuel Mano Osafo


    Manuel is writing a PhD on the relations between the Asante Kingdom and British Colonial rule. He is studying at the University of Ghana.

  • Dr. John Forkuor Boulard


    John is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. John has published widely on urban developments in Africa, with a particular focus on the lives and livelihoods of street vendors.

  • Prof. George Bob-Milliar


    George is director of the Centre of Cultural and African Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. As an Africanist, George brings perspectives on Ghanaian history, politics and culture to the project. George is currently co-editor of African Affairs.

  • Dr. Ben Jones


    Ben is Senior Lecturer with the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia. A social anthropologist, Ben has published award-winning research looking at issues of social change, development and local politics in Africa. Prior to becoming an academic, Ben worked for the World Bank.

Expert Panel Members

  • Prof. Jennifer Hart

    Wayne State University, USA

  • Niels Kastfelt

    University of Copenhagen, Denmark

  • Dr. William Monteith

    University of London, UK

  • Prof. Esmeralda Manful

    Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

  • Dr. Jeffrey Paller

    University of San Francisco, USA