Abagna Gideon Azunre - Lessons from a Participatory Slum Upgrading Program in Ghana

As part of our Graduate Fellows Lunchtime Seminars, the Social Justice Centre welcomes a talk by Abagna Gideon Azunre.

Gideon was recently awarded the Prix Relève étoile Paul-Gérin-Lajoie from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) for his paper "Urban informalities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A solution for or barrier against sustainable city development" published in the peer-reviewed journal World Development.

Project title: "The politics of multi-stakeholder participation and inclusion in informal contexts: Lessons from a Participatory Slum Upgrading Program (PSUP) in Ghana" 

Description: Gideon’s Ph.D. research aims to examine the politics of multi-stakeholder participation and inclusion in marginalized informal contexts (i.e., slums and informal settlements). He asks: To what extent are the needs and interests of diverse stakeholders and vulnerable groups (e.g., women, children, youth, elderly, and the disabled) considered in redevelopment projects? 2) What factors mediate their comprehensive participation (for example, socio-demographics such as education, age, gender, and ethnicity)? and 3) What roles do power and politics play in influencing decision-making? He focuses on Participatory Slum Upgrading Programs in Accra, Ghana’s capital and most populous city.

Abagna Gideon Azunre is a PhD student in the Department of Geography, Planning, and the Environment and a graduate fellow at the Social Justice Centre.

The talk will be followed by a commentary by Norma Rantisi (Professor, Geography, Planning and Environment).

The talk will be hybrid, both in person and on zoom.

Click here to register online on zoom.

To attend in person:
SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation
Conference room (Aster: LB 145.10)
Room LB-145
1400 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Montreal, QC  H3G 1M8
J.W. McConnell Building (LB)