Instructor: Dr. Dan Inkoom

Project: Peri-Urban Resource and Environmental Developments

This project will be based in 5-6 communities surrounding KNUST, focusing research on the effects of an influx of students and increasing population in local communities. The student will examine the social and cultural interactions that take place in each village and how they have been transformed through the years as more students have settled near the University. Paying special attention to environmental issues, the student will explore how the community copes with accommodation, waste disposal, traffic, etc.

This project will lay the foundation for longitudinal studies. The student should have the possibility to stay with a family in some of these villages, thereby allowing for an intensive and concentrated study of each community.

Among several other questions, the student could explore the following:

• How has an influx of modernity transformed villages that were once "sleeping"?
• How do these communities accommodate newcomers? How does the community and population adapt? What social problems result?
• Is the indigenous community still alive? Is cultural diversity threatened?
• What new economic activities have resulted from increased populations and a modernizing movement? What creates income in each community?
• What is the impact on agricultural development?
• Does the increase in money due to incoming builders and settlers return to the community, or do families never receive proper compensation?