Housing Development In Ghana Essay

Housing development in Ghana has increased due to the rapid population growth and urbanization. Amidst the increasing residential development is the changing house types from multi-family, multi-storey housing to single-family, single-storey housing. The research, therefore, seeks to identify the changing house types and the factors that are influencing such shift. Findings from the study provided that, indeed housing types are changing from multi-family, multi-storey housing to single-family, single-storey housing, however, the recent development of multi-family, multi-storey houses have been transformed to suit the prevailing needs of households in the form of flats and apartments, characterized by the private use of housing facilities and services. The factors for the changing house types were mainly due to lack of peace and privacy in compound houses and the need to provide housing security for the nuclear family members.
Keywords: Housing, Single-family house, single-storey house,

These housing types based on Tipple, et al. (1999) study dominated more in the cities like Kumasi. Influenced by the extended family system, the compound housing units were built for the enjoyment of the extended family members and for rental accommodation that benefited the low-income households in many cities in Ghana (Asante, et al., 2014). The housing units were characterized by different households occupying one or two rooms in the house of which most are extended family members. According to Wojtkun (2008), multi-family dwelling also referred to as a corporate housing or multi-habitation is an ancient housing strategy and for many decades, most households in Ghana knows of this housing type. However, recently building of multi-family housing in the form of the compound has been replaced with single-family, single-storey housing