Negotiating a dominant heritage discourse. Sustainable urban planning in Cape Coast, Ghana

Abstract

Purpose

With specific focus on sustainable development of the built environment in Cape Coast, Ghana, the purpose of this paper is to examine practical and conceptual barriers for local planning authorities advancing international outreach programmes based on a global discourse on heritage and heritage management.

Design/methodology/approach

A discourse analysis was conducted on documents and programmes produced by international organisations and local planning authorities since 2000. Further qualitative data collection methods included 25 semi-structured interviews, literature and media review and on-site observations.

Findings

The study shows that the dominant global discourse on heritage management being interconnected with tourism development is adopted by local planning authorities. However, the requirements to advance initiated urban redevelopment projects are neither adapted to the economic realities nor institutional capabilities of the local planning system. Instead of adjusting specific Ghanaian notions of heritage or local forms of heritage organisations, negotiating the discourse is potentially a more sustainable approach.

Practical implications

The findings reveal important implications necessary to address from sustainable development perspective. The study can help practitioners to develop strategies based on local African planning contexts rather than western discourses on best practice.

Originality/value

This study discusses the impact of an Authorised Heritage Discourse on local planning of the built environment, and the need to rescale and broaden the scope of such discourses to other levels than the dominating national/global.

Citation

Fredholm, S. (2015), "Negotiating a dominant heritage discourse. Sustainable urban planning in Cape Coast, Ghana", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 274-289. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-04-2014-0016