Street address and status in the Ghanaian community

What is street address?  It can simply be described as the house number on the street that a residential building or an office building is located on.  Status can be defined as the relative social or professional standing of an individual determining their rights and responsibilities.  In real estate sales, a very common expression very often heard is “location, location and location”.

Location, as defined by street address, is very relevant and important in human settlements around the world and also in Ghana.  Do we have street addresses being associated with status symbol in Ghana?  The simple answer is yes.

Today, to many people in Accra, the hottest residential street addresses are found at East Legon.  However, nonagenarians and octogenarians who have lived most of their lives in Accra will attest to how the Castle Road and the High Street leading to James Town were at some point in time the street addresses with the highest status symbols in Accra.

Identification with status of individuals

Every Ghanaian settlement has locations associated with street address and status of individuals.  This goes all the way back to the era of the slave trade from the 15th to the 19th century.  Settlements with lodges, forts and castles along the coast of Ghana all had street addresses identifying the status of individuals. 

Thus, in all such settlements, streets leading to these three buildings which were developed by the colonial powers  all have storey buildings which were developed by the Europeans for the women (many of whom were captured slaves in the dungeons in the forts and castles) that they had children with. 

Thus, many families with European names who also happened to have been prominent merchants and traders and slave traders arguably could be said to have prominent street addresses and high status in their communities.  The best examples of such street addresses can be found  Elmina, Cape Coast, James Town and Osu in Accra. 

Towards the end of the colonial times in the then Gold Coast, residential areas  for the expatriate colonial civil service staff also assumed very important street addresses and a very high status in Ghanaian communities.  These included the Ridge and the Cantonments areas in Accra, the Ridge areas in Cape Coast and Takoradi and Nhyiaso and Danyame in Kumasi, to name a few. 

Such places all had bungalows with outhouses for African or native servants.  Interestingly, many of the old bungalows which were raised above the ground on pilotis or columns had a huge living room and only one bedroom with a kitchen and toilet.  After independence, Ghanaians replaced the expatriate civil servants and as expected, moved into these bungalows which then became a model for some wealthy Ghanaians to copy in building their own houses.

New sites

Increased urbanisation and urban sprawl have led to the development of what has become known in Ghana as “New Sites.”  Thus, virtually every settlement in Ghana now has a new site.  Interestingly, many “old sites” in many settlements have better and stronger buildings than some buildings in the new sites.  In more recent times, street naming has been made mandatory in Ghana. 

This has produced very interesting results.  Whereas in some communities  some streets have been named after prominent citizens who are either alive or dead, the various District, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies (MMDAs) fixed rates to be paid for naming streets after individuals.  Thus, it is now common to find individuals whose houses are located on streets that bear their names across the length and breadth of Ghana.

Has this recent development in any way affected street address and status in the Ghanaian community?  The jury is still out on this issue.  The impression created, however, is that certain suburbs or localities in certain settlements seem to have produced more prominent street addresses and a higher status than others.  Is this impression correct?  Is there a league table for street addresses and status in Ghanaian settlements?  Though such a table has not been formally produced yet, it is interesting to note the changing nature of the importance of street address and status even in particular settlements.

 In more recent times, in Accra for example, many people have clamoured for post office boxes at the Cantonments Post Office because of its street address.  For residential buildings, the same Cantonments suburb and the Ringway Estates also enjoyed their time in the sun as the Americans would say.  Dansoman Estates joined the “top flight super league” during the days of General Acheampong’s Ghana and so did Sakumono Estates during the era of Flight Lieutenant Rawlings’ PNDC regime.

Whereas many suburbs in Europe and North America detest the construction of airports in their vicinity with the “not in my backyard” slogan, many Ghanaians have proudly pounded their chests to brag that they live in the Airport Residential Area.

At different times, the DEVTRACCO residential housing units in Accra, Spintex Road and Community 11 in Tema have captured the headlines but the rise of residential buildings for professional footballers plying their trade in Europe has helped to catapult East Legon to the forefront in more recent times.  However, the Villagio housing complex near the Tetteh Quashie Interchange appears to have swamped them all.  It is a street address that, arguably, has no “coequal” in Accra today.    

In Takoradi, the Beach Road used to be one of the leading street addresses.  The advent of seafaring “burghers’” residential buildings with interesting features in Takoradi’s new sites has not made much of an impact on street addresses because they have not been concentrated in particular areas.  Street addresses have meant so much to many people that some people from the rural areas have taken pictures in front of public buildings such as the offices of the Members of Parliament (Job 600), the State House and others and sent them to their villages that they live in those buildings.

Does this mean that all buildings in the same neighbourhood or suburb have the same street address and status?  The answer is a simple no.  This is because in all the suburbs that have been deemed to have had high street addresses and status, a close inspection shows there are several shacks or dilapidated office buildings and housing units or even kiosks in either timber or plastic sheets which rub shoulders with the reinforced concrete and glass structures.

In some cases, such nondescript buildings or structures may have been originally part of existing settlements which have become part of the newly developed high-income suburb.  Old buildings on streets which have become prominent in various settlements in Ghana today, therefore, have become threatened species and it is not surprising that many such buildings now parade bold signs in red paint reading “THIS PROPERTY IS NOT FOR SALE.  BEWARE OF FRAUDSTERS.”  Many such signs on buildings are very common at Osu, Accra for example.

Ghanaians will never stop their quest for high status in the community and street address will continue to be one of the means used to achieve this.  Some Ghanaians may be happy to have a place to lay their heads after a hard day’s work but many are very concerned about where they live in the various settlements. 

To them, it is very important where they live.  It is not enough for them to say that they live in a particular town.  They have to live in a house on a particular street in a particular suburb.  Street address counts and contributes to their perception of how important they think they are in society. 

The writer is the Past Dean, Faculty of Architecture and Building Technology, KNUST,

Past Head, Department of Architecture, KNUST.

Writer’s E-mail: gwkintsiful@gmail.com