Developing guidelines for sustainable affordable housing in Ghana

Introduction
The issue of climate change is increasingly gaining prominence in Ghana. Unlike other places there is little or no debate on the science of climate change. The country is a signatory to all the global climate change protocols. There is even a renewal energy bill that will be passed soon by parliament and also the Ghana green building council was formed recently.

Even though Ghana and countries like it are generally not considered large co2 emitters, they are not spared the disastrous consequences of climate change such as droughts, floods, and energy shortages etc. Even more significant is the fact that these emissions figures could record a dramatic rise in the future as these countries strive towards development. Emerging countries like China, India and Brazil attest to this fact. The construction industry is known to be a major contributor of co2 emissions. Through extraction of building materials, processing, manufacturing, transportation and the construction process itself large amounts of co2 emissions occur.

The need for affordable housing in Ghana is overwhelming. With a high percentage of the population in the low income demographic and an inadequate housing finance framework, a large section of the people lack what can be described as proper housing.

The need therefore for a framework to guide, regulate and coordinate the dual problem of affordable housing and sustainable measures is critical.

Problem statement:
Housing, especially housing that is affordable for low-income people, is highly complex and capital intensive for all parties involved. “This is especially the case for poor people themselves who must apply their scarce savings and abundant social networks, both of which are manifested in many forms, to create shelter and an asset for their families and themselves. It is also one of the oldest economic development activities and many expensive lessons have been learned in the field”. (CHF International, 2004)

The housing situation in Ghana been described by various bodies as a sector in crisis. There is a high demand especially in the affordable housing bracket. High and middle incomes mainly engage in self finance or take advantage of the few mortgage facilities available. This is beyond the reach of majority of the population who are outside this income bracket. There is currently a housing deficit of nearly one million units (as at 2009) for a total population of just about 23million people. (2000 Population and Housing Census). A total of 150,000 units per annum are needed to cater for this deficit. Unfortunately less than 40,000 units are available every year. Consequently the total deficit will grow to a staggering 2.5million if efforts on the supply side are not stepped up.

It is possible through sustainable measures to create buildings that not only supports the Ghanaian lifestyle but are also climate and cost sensitive. Sustainable affordable housing will ensure that citizens are adequately provided shelter that meets their basic and felt needs as well as fulfilling the environmental sustainability dimension. This will be achieved by the use of technologies, materials, processes and systems that are geared towards reducing co2 emissions.

Sustainability and sustainable housing
The concept of Sustainability has several and varied definitions, however, the most widely accepted definition is that proposed by the World Commission on Environment and Development in their 1987 study commonly known as the Bruntland commission report (WCED, 1987). Sustainable development refers to 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need'.

Whereas (Newman, 2002) defines sustainability as 'Sustainability is defined as a global process that also tries to help create an enduring future where environmental and social factors are considered simultaneously with economic factors (Newman, 2002,). He also defines what sustainability will mean for housing:

• Ensuring there is a 'roof overhead' for the housing disadvantaged,

• Ensuring housing is more eco-efficient, and
• Ensuring housing is well located or is part of a project to improve locational amenity.(Newman, 2002, p. 1)

Sustainability and affordable housing
Affordable housing usually means a roof over the head, however sustainable housing is more than just a roof over the head (Newman, 2002). Affordable housing also sets cost limits of housing owing to the fact that households should not pay more than 30% of their household income. In situations where households spend more than 30% of the household income on housing it implies they are in housing distress.

Therefore, it is a real challenge for both facilitator and provider to provide affordable housing, which is also sustainable. As stated earlier sustainability does not only mean economic viability, but also socially and environmentally sustainable. Consequently, there is a need for a compromise between various sustainability measures to achieve sustainable housing that is affordable. Unfortunately currently the sustainability of housing is very much related to economics and to some extent environment. Therefore, sustainable housing must be economically viable, socially acceptable, technically feasible and environmentally compatible.

Guidelines for sustainable affordable housing.
Economic sustainability
Micro-mortgages
In a country where few mortgage facilities are available, or are mostly out of reach of majority of the populace, creative solutions would have to be employed to ensure the economic sustainability of affordable housing. Well-designed micro mortgages can emulate the astounding successes micro credit has achieved in the past and present. Most low income people in Ghana built their houses incrementally right from land acquisition to when the house is completed. Credit could be advanced to them at various stages of completion, with the high ambition to own their homes and proper monitoring default rates will be very low thus making such schemes sustainable.

Local Governments and other partners such as banks and registered non-bank financial institutions already operating micro credit schemes in communities can attempt to source suitable construction locations in each of the target communities. Seed or operating capital can be provided by central government or interested external donors. The group will then identify and pre‐screen qualified beneficiaries in each community. Partner local banks and lending institutions will then make loans available to finance stages of low income housing. Following an appropriately agreed stage completion period and repayment, arrangements for the next stage can commence. The sums given out can be determined by local experts based on designs produced for the given location.

The homes should be designed with community participation to meet a minimum standard for housing in each locality and contain a bathroom, kitchen, individual rooms, clean running water, a septic system and electricity. Families currently living in slum areas will be selected on the basis of their qualifications to repay the micro‐mortgage. Priority could also be given to women‐headed households (enough evidence exist in the disbursement of micro credit to attest to their reliability). Those getting the mortgages can be teachers, nurses, taxi drivers or others who until now have not had a source of long‐term financing to purchase a basic house.

Environmental sustainability
Building materials and form
Innovative developments of affordable housing in peculiar settings like Ghana will have to push the boundaries on energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and sustainable sites—while generating significant financial, health, and environmental benefits for the beneficiaries, funding agencies and government.

Building small is the way to go. A lot of savings can be made every step of the way when houses are built small. Initial building costs are lower, and home owners save money on operations and long-term maintenance. And with the incremental building culture, further additions can always be made later.

The use of local natural building materials is a key part of sustainable development. Instead of transporting materials from hundreds or thousands of miles away, it's far better to use what is at hand. Take note of the minimally processed, low-embodied energy natural building materials that are locally available. In Ghana, a lot of research findings from the Building and Road Research Institute on pozzalana cement, bricks, “tek” blocks and stabilized mud already exist. However most construction activity is still undertaken with mostly imported and for that matter expensive materials. The challenge is to mainstream the use of local materials and make them more acceptable either through legislation or intensive education and extension.

Renewal energy
Renewal energy options have to be given top priority for affordable housing delivery to be efficient. Using local renewable energy supplies e.g. solar energy, Ghana is endowed with abundant renewable energy resources comprising Solar, Wind, Biomass and Hydro. These alternative energy supply resources can be harnessed in order to diversify energy sources and ensure energy security. In Ghana, the annual solar irradiation ranges between 4.4 and 5.6 KWh/m2 -day (or 16-20 MJ/m2 -day) (Akuffo 1991). Currently, the installed solar electricity generating capacity is just above 1.0 MW (Energy Foundation 2000). Series of measurements to establish the suitability of wind technology in Ghana for generating electricity was carried out by RISO (Denmark) in 2002, at heights of 12m and 40m, where they recorded wind speeds between 4.9 m/s to 5.9m/s (Energy Commission 2006). Biomass pellet boilers already in use in other parts of the world can provide an efficient and appropriate technology option in Ghana. Enormous amounts of organic solid waste are generated as a result of food culture and lifestyle of most Ghanaian families. This can be conveniently harnessed to again fulfill the cultural norm of outdoor cooking in a well situated and ventilated outdoor cooking area for residents of affordable housing.

Sustainable design features
A combination of climate appropriate Passive design features will deliver great results to both the environment and reduce running cost of buildings hence improving sustainability. Solar orientation and wind direction- orientation, mainly keeping the large dimensions or surfaces of the building away from the sun in a north-south orientation and taking advantage of prevailing wind direction has the potential to reduce cooling loads to a great extent. Courtyards incorporated into mass housing designs can also promote ventilation and foster the family gathering culture the people are accustomed to.

Rainwater harvesting should also be considered as a sustainable design feature. In most urban and rural locations in Ghana treated portable running water is still not widely available. While efforts are being made build more treatment plants and improve distribution networks, rainwater can be relied on. Harvested rainwater available between 3-6months every year depending on location in the country can be treated in small community plants and pumped back to households for various applications.

In addition to this, the use of low flow rated sanitary ware can further reduce the total volume of water required by users thus the power and other cost elements required in running water systems. Environmental benefits by way co2 reductions will then accrue.

Low energy lighting is another feature that can ensure eco-sustainability. Their use will facilitate reductions in energy demands from existing power grids or other renewable energy sources. In the face of ever increasing energy costs in Ghana, and domestic lighting being a major component of total energy consumption, low energy lighting can be an appropriate solution affordability and environmental impact.

Social sustainability
Social sustainability can be achieved by the application of functional design and by respecting the local context and culture. For example, using cluster housing layouts as against row housing. In cluster housing, households have common public place which provides opportunities to interact with other households where as the row house does not provide this opportunity. Also, to achieve sustainability in the affordable housing sector, there is a need to make community involvement in the design and construction of housing, building standards, provision of infrastructure responsibilities, housing finance and provision of land mandatory.

Design of housing development covers both design of house and design of the entire neighborhood. Design should provide quality public open space and public a realm that attracts people of all age groups to participate in community activities. All this will reduce the maintenance cost of housing and allow good social interaction within the community.

Government can also ensure social sustainability by releasing state owned lands that are otherwise sold to certain powerful individuals and cronies for use in affordable housing projects. The current practice generates a lot of social tension, when such lands are released for this purpose, some of this tension could be eased.

Again, government can also provide direct subsidies where difficulties exist in incorporating renewable energy options and local materials still in their developmental stages.

Conclusions
In the exercise to evolve guidelines for affordable housing in a peculiar setting such as Ghana it is not too difficult to ascertain that many objectives of affordable housing closely align with objectives of sustainability such as location close to public transport and social and community facilities, compact design, consideration of a climate and solar orientation. Having said that, there are also some objectives that are quite opposite to each other such as the fact that eco-efficiency measures result in extra cost in an already finance challenged segment. Therefore, is difficult to achieve affordability without financial support from government. Even though housing sustainability is as important as housing affordability, it is necessary to give priority to affordability of low income households. Hence to make housing sustainable for everyone sustainability criteria should vary from one housing type to other.

Affordable housing and sustainability could be achieved by pursuing an integrated approach of the measures outlined. Government funding will continue to be a huge challenge in the foreseeable future. For that matter private and donor funding administered through a micro-mortgage scheme to qualified beneficiaries in an incremental building scheme can ensure economic sustainability.

NAME: ABDUL-MANAN DAUDA
ADDRESS: TIANJIN UNIVERSITY
WEIJIN LU, NANKAI DISTRICT.
D516 LIU YUAN
POSTAL CODE 300072
TIANJIN, PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA

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