Prelims

doi:10.1108/978-1-83549-746-320251012

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Urban Alchemy: A Governance and Planning Framework for Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Economies

Author and Other Information

Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa

University of Johannesburg, South Africa

John Edward Cobbina

Koforidua Technical University, Ghana

Simon Ofori Ametepey

Koforidua Technical University, Ghana

Wellington Didibhuku Thwala

Walter Sisulu University, South Africa

Emerald Publishing Limited

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1108/9781835497463

ISBN electronic:

978-1-83549-746-3

ISBN print:

978-1-83549-747-0

Publication date:

2025

Book Chapter

Prelims

Author and Other Information

2025

Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, John Edward Cobbina, Simon Ofori Ametepey and Wellington Didibhuku Thwala

Doi:

https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83549-746-320251012

Published:

2025

2025

Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, John Edward Cobbina, Simon Ofori Ametepey and Wellington Didibhuku Thwala

Half Title Page

Urban Alchemy

Title Page

Urban Alchemy: A Governance and Planning Framework for Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Economies

CLINTON OHIS AIGBAVBOA

University of Johannesburg, South Africa

JOHN EDWARD COBBINA

Koforidua Technical University, Ghana

SIMON OFORI AMETEPEY

Koforidua Technical University, Ghana

AND

WELLINGTON DIDIBHUKU THWALA

Walter Sisulu University, South Africa

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21–23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2025

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ISBN: 978-1-83549-747-0 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83549-746-3 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83549-748-7 (Epub)

About the Authors		xi
Part One: Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries
Chapter One: General Introduction		3
1.1.	Introduction	4
1.2.	Background of the Book	4
1.3.	Problem Statement of the Book	5
1.4.	Purpose of the Book	6
1.5.	Motivation for the Book	6
1.6.	Significance of the Book	6
1.7.	Objectives of the Book	7
1.8.	Summary	7
Chapter Two: Theoretical Overview of Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning		9
2.1.	Introduction	10
2.2.	Sustainable Urban Development Concept	10
2.2.1.	Understanding Sustainable Urban Development	11
2.3.	Understanding Societal Transformation and Its Relationship with Urbanization	11
2.3.1.	Dichotomy Between Economic and Environmental Developments in the Growth of Societies	14
2.3.2.	Structure of the Urban Economy in Urban Transformation	15
2.4.	Theories of Urban Transformation	16
2.4.1.	Urbanization Stages Theory	16
2.4.2.	Stage Model of Urban Environmental Evolution	16
2.4.3.	The Indicators of SD	16
2.5.	The Principal Drivers of SUT	17
Chapter Three: Concepts and Theories of Governance and Urban Governance		21
3.1.	Introduction	22
3.2.	Governance	22
3.3.	Public Governance	23
3.3.1.	Global and Polycentric Governance	23
3.3.1.1.	Global Governance	24
3.3.1.2.	Polycentric Governance	25
3.3.1.3.	Challenges to the Governance of States'	26
3.3.2.	Evolution of Urban Governance	28
3.4.	Theories of Modes of Urban Governance	28
3.4.1.	Clientelistic Mode	29
3.4.2.	Corporatist Modes	29
3.4.3.	Managerial Modes	30
3.4.4.	Pluralist Modes	30
3.4.5.	Populist Modes	30
3.4.6.	Other Perspectives of Modes of Urban Governance	30
3.5.	Governance for Sustainable Development	31
3.5.1.	Smart City Governance Concept	31
3.5.2.	Direction of Development of Cities Concept of Urban Governance	31
3.5.3.	Green Economy System of Governance	32
3.6.	Summary	33
Part Two: Models, Theories, and Frameworks for Planning and Urban Planning
Chapter Four: Concept and Theories of Urban Planning		39
4.1.	Introduction	40
4.2.	Origin of the Concept of Modern-day Planning	40
4.3.	Land Use Planning Versus Spatial Planning	41
4.3.1.	Land Use Planning	41
4.3.2.	Spatial Planning	41
4.4.	Sustainable Urban Planning Models, Frameworks, and Assessment Tools	42
4.4.1.	Rethink Cities	42
4.4.2.	Land Use Zoning	42
4.4.3.	The Eco2 City Concept	43
4.4.4.	The Systems Approach	43
4.4.5.	BREEAM Communities	43
4.4.6.	Eco2 Cities	43
4.4.7.	Smart Cities/Smart Sustainable Cities	44
4.4.8.	The SILENT Model	44
4.4.9.	Strategic Environmental Assessment	45
4.5.	Summary	46
Chapter Five: An Overview of Frameworks for Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning		49
5.1.	Introduction	50
5.2.	Theoretical Framework for Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning	50
5.2.1.	Global Campaign on Urban Governance and GUO Indicators of Sustainable Urban Transformation	51
5.2.2.	Framework for SUG	51
5.2.3.	The International Urban Sustainable Indicator List	52
5.2.4.	The Sustainable Community Framework	53
5.2.5.	The Urban Sustainability Index	53
5.2.6.	‘Benchmark’ Best Practices and Framework for Sustainable Urban Development	53
5.2.7.	UN-Habitat 26 Indicators of SUG	55
5.2.8.	The Urban Governance Index	56
5.2.9.	The Sustainable Built Environment Tool	56
5.2.10. Indicators Base of the Silent Model	56
5.2.11. Smart Cities Indicator	57
5.3.	Summary	57
Chapter Six: Gaps in Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning Research		61
6.1.	Introduction	62
6.2.	Observed Gaps in SUG&P Literature Review	62
6.3.	Combined Framework for SUG&P	63
6.4.	GAP ONE – Historical Antecedent	63
6.5.	Historical Antecedent on Societal Institutional Development Theories	65
6.5.1.	Adams Smith’s Economy of History Theory	65
6.5.2.	Douglas North’s Game Theory	66
6.6.	GAP TWO – Stakeholders Management	66
6.6.1.	Stakeholder Theory Contributions to Sustainability Management	66
6.7.	Summary	68
Part Three: Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning in Sustainable Urban Transformation Implementation in Ghana
Chapter Seven: Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Ghana		73
7.1.	Introduction	74
7.2.	Demographic Profile of Respondents Studied	74
7.3.	Description of Each of the Variables in the Study	75
7.3.1.	Leadership Commitment	75
7.3.2.	Good Governance Principles	76
7.3.3.	Green Economy	78
7.3.4.	Built Environment	80
7.3.5.	Cultural Identity	82
7.3.6.	Urban Stakeholder Management	83
7.3.7.	Historical Antecedent	85
7.3.8.	Outcomes for SUG&P	87
7.4.	Variables	88
7.5.	Other Elements Analyzed	89
7.5.1.	KSB to Implementation of SUT	90
7.5.2.	Challenges to Implementation of SUT	91
7.5.3.	Indicators of SUT	93
Chapter Eight: A Quantitative Study of Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries: Results from Ghana		95
8.1.	Introduction	96
8.2.	Inferential Statistics	96
8.2.1.	Exploratory Factor Analysis	97
8.2.1.1.	EFA for KSB to SUT Implementation	97
8.2.1.2.	EFA for Challenges to the Implementation of SUT	101
8.2.1.3.	EFA for LC Construct	106
8.2.1.4.	EFA for GGP	112
8.2.1.5.	EFA for GE Construct	118
8.2.1.6.	EFA for BE Construct	123
8.2.1.7.	EFA for CI Construct	127
8.2.1.8.	EFA for USM Construct	131
8.2.1.9.	EFA for HA Construct	138
8.2.1.10.	EFA for Outcome of Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning Construct	143
8.3.	Measurement Instrument Assessment	148
8.3.1.	Confirmatory Factor Analysis	149
8.3.2.	Testing for Reliability	151
8.3.3.	Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient	151
8.3.4.	Composite Reliability	151
8.3.5.	Testing for Validity	151
8.3.5.1.	Convergent Validity	152
8.3.5.2.	Discriminant Validity	152
Chapter Nine: Modelling Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Ghana		155
9.1.	Introduction	156
9.2.	Model Fit Measurement	156
9.2.1.	Measurement Models for LC Feature	156
9.2.2.	Measurement Models for GGP Features	158
9.2.3.	Measurement Models for GE Features	159
9.2.4.	Measurement Models for BE Features	160
9.2.5.	Measurement Models for CI Features	162
9.2.6.	Measurement Models for HA Features	163
9.2.7.	Measurement Models for USM Features	164
9.2.8.	Measurement Models for OST Features	165
9.3.	Model Fit Indices	168
9.3.1.	Chi-square Index (χ²) Goodness of Fit	169
9.3.2.	Baseline Comparison Index	170
9.3.3.	The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation	172
9.3.4.	Summary of Model Fit Indices for CFA	172
9.4.	Path Modelling and Model Fit	172
9.4.1.	Path Modelling: Hypothesis Testing and Its Significance Levels	174
9.4.2.	Structural Model Hypothesis Testing	174
9.4.3.	Testing the Influence of Exogenous Variables on the SUG&P Model	174
9.4.3.1.	Testing of the Direct Influence of BE Features on SUG&P	174
9.4.3.2.	Testing of the Direct Influence of CI Features on SUG&P	175
9.4.3.3.	Testing of the Direct Influence of GE Features on SUG&P	175
9.4.3.4.	Testing of the Direct Influence of GGP Features on SUG&P	176
9.4.3.5.	Testing of the Direct Influence of HA Features on SUG&P	176
9.4.3.6.	Testing of the Direct Influence of LC Features on SUG&P	176
9.4.3.7.	Testing of the Direct Influence of USM Features on SUG&P	177
9.5.	Summary	178
Chapter Ten: Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries: Discussions of a Study in Ghana		181
10.1.	Introduction	182
10.2.	Discussions of the Questionnaire Surveys Results	182
10.3.	Discussion of Results	182
10.4.	Other Elements	190
10.4.1.	Key Stakeholder Behaviour	190
10.4.2.	Exploratory Factor Analysis	191
10.4.3.	Confirmatory Factor Analysis	193
10.4.4.	Measurement Instrument Assessment	194
10.5.	Discussions of the Model Results Identified Using AMOS	194
10.5.1.	Relationship Between LC and SUG&P	195
10.5.2.	Relationship Between GGP and SUG&P	195
10.5.3.	Relationship Between GE and SUG&P	196
10.5.4.	Relationship Between BE and SUG&P	196
10.5.5.	Relationship Between CI and SUG&P	197
10.5.6.	Relationship Between HA and SUG&P	197
10.5.7.	Relationship Between USM and SUG&P	198
10.6.	Summary	198
Chapter Eleven: Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning in Sustainable Urban Transformation Implementation in Developing Countries		201
11.1.	Introduction	202
11.2.	Proposed Conceptual Framework for SUG&P	202
11.2.1.	Leadership Commitment	202
11.2.2.	Good Governance Principles	203
11.2.3.	Green Economy	206
11.2.4.	Built Environment	209
11.2.5.	Cultural Identity	210
11.2.6.	Historical Antecedent	211
11.2.7.	Urban Stakeholder Management	212

About the Authors		xi
Part One: Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries
Chapter One: General Introduction		3
1.1.	Introduction	4
1.2.	Background of the Book	4
1.3.	Problem Statement of the Book	5
1.4.	Purpose of the Book	6
1.5.	Motivation for the Book	6
1.6.	Significance of the Book	6
1.7.	Objectives of the Book	7
1.8.	Summary	7
Chapter Two: Theoretical Overview of Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning		9
2.1.	Introduction	10
2.2.	Sustainable Urban Development Concept	10
2.2.1.	Understanding Sustainable Urban Development	11
2.3.	Understanding Societal Transformation and Its Relationship with Urbanization	11
2.3.1.	Dichotomy Between Economic and Environmental Developments in the Growth of Societies	14
2.3.2.	Structure of the Urban Economy in Urban Transformation	15
2.4.	Theories of Urban Transformation	16
2.4.1.	Urbanization Stages Theory	16
2.4.2.	Stage Model of Urban Environmental Evolution	16
2.4.3.	The Indicators of SD	16
2.5.	The Principal Drivers of SUT	17
Chapter Three: Concepts and Theories of Governance and Urban Governance		21
3.1.	Introduction	22
3.2.	Governance	22
3.3.	Public Governance	23
3.3.1.	Global and Polycentric Governance	23
3.3.1.1.	Global Governance	24
3.3.1.2.	Polycentric Governance	25
3.3.1.3.	Challenges to the Governance of States'	26
3.3.2.	Evolution of Urban Governance	28
3.4.	Theories of Modes of Urban Governance	28
3.4.1.	Clientelistic Mode	29
3.4.2.	Corporatist Modes	29
3.4.3.	Managerial Modes	30
3.4.4.	Pluralist Modes	30
3.4.5.	Populist Modes	30
3.4.6.	Other Perspectives of Modes of Urban Governance	30
3.5.	Governance for Sustainable Development	31
3.5.1.	Smart City Governance Concept	31
3.5.2.	Direction of Development of Cities Concept of Urban Governance	31
3.5.3.	Green Economy System of Governance	32
3.6.	Summary	33
Part Two: Models, Theories, and Frameworks for Planning and Urban Planning
Chapter Four: Concept and Theories of Urban Planning		39
4.1.	Introduction	40
4.2.	Origin of the Concept of Modern-day Planning	40
4.3.	Land Use Planning Versus Spatial Planning	41
4.3.1.	Land Use Planning	41
4.3.2.	Spatial Planning	41
4.4.	Sustainable Urban Planning Models, Frameworks, and Assessment Tools	42
4.4.1.	Rethink Cities	42
4.4.2.	Land Use Zoning	42
4.4.3.	The Eco2 City Concept	43
4.4.4.	The Systems Approach	43
4.4.5.	BREEAM Communities	43
4.4.6.	Eco2 Cities	43
4.4.7.	Smart Cities/Smart Sustainable Cities	44
4.4.8.	The SILENT Model	44
4.4.9.	Strategic Environmental Assessment	45
4.5.	Summary	46
Chapter Five: An Overview of Frameworks for Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning		49
5.1.	Introduction	50
5.2.	Theoretical Framework for Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning	50
5.2.1.	Global Campaign on Urban Governance and GUO Indicators of Sustainable Urban Transformation	51
5.2.2.	Framework for SUG	51
5.2.3.	The International Urban Sustainable Indicator List	52
5.2.4.	The Sustainable Community Framework	53
5.2.5.	The Urban Sustainability Index	53
5.2.6.	‘Benchmark’ Best Practices and Framework for Sustainable Urban Development	53
5.2.7.	UN-Habitat 26 Indicators of SUG	55
5.2.8.	The Urban Governance Index	56
5.2.9.	The Sustainable Built Environment Tool	56
5.2.10. Indicators Base of the Silent Model	56
5.2.11. Smart Cities Indicator	57
5.3.	Summary	57
Chapter Six: Gaps in Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning Research		61
6.1.	Introduction	62
6.2.	Observed Gaps in SUG&P Literature Review	62
6.3.	Combined Framework for SUG&P	63
6.4.	GAP ONE – Historical Antecedent	63
6.5.	Historical Antecedent on Societal Institutional Development Theories	65
6.5.1.	Adams Smith’s Economy of History Theory	65
6.5.2.	Douglas North’s Game Theory	66
6.6.	GAP TWO – Stakeholders Management	66
6.6.1.	Stakeholder Theory Contributions to Sustainability Management	66
6.7.	Summary	68
Part Three: Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning in Sustainable Urban Transformation Implementation in Ghana
Chapter Seven: Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Ghana		73
7.1.	Introduction	74
7.2.	Demographic Profile of Respondents Studied	74
7.3.	Description of Each of the Variables in the Study	75
7.3.1.	Leadership Commitment	75
7.3.2.	Good Governance Principles	76
7.3.3.	Green Economy	78
7.3.4.	Built Environment	80
7.3.5.	Cultural Identity	82
7.3.6.	Urban Stakeholder Management	83
7.3.7.	Historical Antecedent	85
7.3.8.	Outcomes for SUG&P	87
7.4.	Variables	88
7.5.	Other Elements Analyzed	89
7.5.1.	KSB to Implementation of SUT	90
7.5.2.	Challenges to Implementation of SUT	91
7.5.3.	Indicators of SUT	93
Chapter Eight: A Quantitative Study of Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries: Results from Ghana		95
8.1.	Introduction	96
8.2.	Inferential Statistics	96
8.2.1.	Exploratory Factor Analysis	97
8.2.1.1.	EFA for KSB to SUT Implementation	97
8.2.1.2.	EFA for Challenges to the Implementation of SUT	101
8.2.1.3.	EFA for LC Construct	106
8.2.1.4.	EFA for GGP	112
8.2.1.5.	EFA for GE Construct	118
8.2.1.6.	EFA for BE Construct	123
8.2.1.7.	EFA for CI Construct	127
8.2.1.8.	EFA for USM Construct	131
8.2.1.9.	EFA for HA Construct	138
8.2.1.10.	EFA for Outcome of Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning Construct	143
8.3.	Measurement Instrument Assessment	148
8.3.1.	Confirmatory Factor Analysis	149
8.3.2.	Testing for Reliability	151
8.3.3.	Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient	151
8.3.4.	Composite Reliability	151
8.3.5.	Testing for Validity	151
8.3.5.1.	Convergent Validity	152
8.3.5.2.	Discriminant Validity	152
Chapter Nine: Modelling Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Ghana		155
9.1.	Introduction	156
9.2.	Model Fit Measurement	156
9.2.1.	Measurement Models for LC Feature	156
9.2.2.	Measurement Models for GGP Features	158
9.2.3.	Measurement Models for GE Features	159
9.2.4.	Measurement Models for BE Features	160
9.2.5.	Measurement Models for CI Features	162
9.2.6.	Measurement Models for HA Features	163
9.2.7.	Measurement Models for USM Features	164
9.2.8.	Measurement Models for OST Features	165
9.3.	Model Fit Indices	168
9.3.1.	Chi-square Index (χ²) Goodness of Fit	169
9.3.2.	Baseline Comparison Index	170
9.3.3.	The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation	172
9.3.4.	Summary of Model Fit Indices for CFA	172
9.4.	Path Modelling and Model Fit	172
9.4.1.	Path Modelling: Hypothesis Testing and Its Significance Levels	174
9.4.2.	Structural Model Hypothesis Testing	174
9.4.3.	Testing the Influence of Exogenous Variables on the SUG&P Model	174
9.4.3.1.	Testing of the Direct Influence of BE Features on SUG&P	174
9.4.3.2.	Testing of the Direct Influence of CI Features on SUG&P	175
9.4.3.3.	Testing of the Direct Influence of GE Features on SUG&P	175
9.4.3.4.	Testing of the Direct Influence of GGP Features on SUG&P	176
9.4.3.5.	Testing of the Direct Influence of HA Features on SUG&P	176
9.4.3.6.	Testing of the Direct Influence of LC Features on SUG&P	176
9.4.3.7.	Testing of the Direct Influence of USM Features on SUG&P	177
9.5.	Summary	178
Chapter Ten: Sustainable Urban Transformation in Developing Countries: Discussions of a Study in Ghana		181
10.1.	Introduction	182
10.2.	Discussions of the Questionnaire Surveys Results	182
10.3.	Discussion of Results	182
10.4.	Other Elements	190
10.4.1.	Key Stakeholder Behaviour	190
10.4.2.	Exploratory Factor Analysis	191
10.4.3.	Confirmatory Factor Analysis	193
10.4.4.	Measurement Instrument Assessment	194
10.5.	Discussions of the Model Results Identified Using AMOS	194
10.5.1.	Relationship Between LC and SUG&P	195
10.5.2.	Relationship Between GGP and SUG&P	195
10.5.3.	Relationship Between GE and SUG&P	196
10.5.4.	Relationship Between BE and SUG&P	196
10.5.5.	Relationship Between CI and SUG&P	197
10.5.6.	Relationship Between HA and SUG&P	197
10.5.7.	Relationship Between USM and SUG&P	198
10.6.	Summary	198
Chapter Eleven: Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Urban Governance and Planning in Sustainable Urban Transformation Implementation in Developing Countries		201
11.1.	Introduction	202
11.2.	Proposed Conceptual Framework for SUG&P	202
11.2.1.	Leadership Commitment	202
11.2.2.	Good Governance Principles	203
11.2.3.	Green Economy	206
11.2.4.	Built Environment	209
11.2.5.	Cultural Identity	210
11.2.6.	Historical Antecedent	211
11.2.7.	Urban Stakeholder Management	212

About the Authors

Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa is a Professor in the Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying and Director of CIDB Centre of Excellence & Sustainable Human Settlement and Construction Research Centre, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Currently, he is the Chair of DSI/NRF Research Chair in Sustainable Construction Management and Leadership in the Built Environment at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

John Edward Cobbina is a Lecturer at the Department of Building Technology, Koforidua Technical University (KTU), Koforidua, Ghana, and a Post-doctoral Research Fellow with the Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Simon Ofori Ametepey is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Centre for Sustainable Development, Koforidua Technical University, Ghana. He is a Senior Research Associate with the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, The University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a Research Associate with the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa..

Wellington Didibhuku Thwala is a Distinguished Professor and currently the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment, and Information at the Walter Sisulu University East London, South Africa.

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