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Aburi Is Vunerable And Potential For A Cataphosphic Event Similar To The Mudslides In Sierra Leone

“Advancing A Call By Dr. Peter A. Sam For An Holistic Smart Growth, Livability, Sustainability, Educational, Socio-Economic, Community Health And Human Capacity Development (Aburi Greening (AGing)”
By Dr. Peter A. Sam, CEI; CTS; CRS; CES
Research Findings Aburi Is Vunerable And Potential For A Cataphosphic Event Similar To The Mudslides In Sierra Leone
AUG 26, 2017 LISTEN

About The Author:
DR. PETER A. SAM is a Professor of Environmental Sciences, an International Environmental Scientist, President/CEO Paradigm Apprentice & Training Corporation, NC, USA and an International Development and Assistance expert.

He served as a Senior Executive In-Residence as Assistant/Associate Dean for Research/Professor and Graduate Programs at North Carolina A & T University. He was also a faculty member of the University of Kansas and Permanent Chairperson and Founder of the Faith Academy School, Missouri, USA Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Program.

Dr. Sam has worked both in the private business sector, public sector (local, state and federal), at the international sector NGO/CSO, International Development/Assistance Agencies and Governments) and finally at the High Learning Education sector. As a founder of AERCG an International Civil Society Organization, he was instrumental in several international businesses, research and development projects initiatives.

Dr. Sam has served with the United States federal government, Several State and Municipal Governments in the USA and worked in both the private and public sectors in areas of international environmental , humanitarian, community sustainable development and human capacity development programs for over 30 years working with the US EPA, USAID, US State Department and International Organizations.

Dr. Sam has worked with several venture capital entities in numerous Joint Business Development in several African countries and within the USA. He has served on several Advisory Board both national and international including serving on several taskforce teams to develop policies, regulations and executive orders.

Dr. Sam is an international expert on urban and rural environmental inter-linkages specializing in environmental remediation, policy development, facility planning and management, sustainable development, renewal energy, civil society engagement, environmental justice, brownfields, smart growth and environmental greening. He has over 50 professional publications and authorship of a technical book publication. He holds a doctorate degree in Environmental Science/Geography from University of Kansas, A Master’s Degree in Environmental Planning from University of Colorado and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Regis University. Dr. Sam may be reached on (913) 284-6615

Executive Summary
Aburi Greening® (AGing)
Advancing Community Resilience, Revitalization and Development of a Green Sustainable Community, Smart Growth, Livability, Renewable Impact Zone”

The Aburi countryside neighborhood and community represent a multiplicity of village communities enclaves dominated by rural farming, people, agro-economic, social, cultural, historic landmarks and educational institutions, underscored by a growing environmental, infrastructureand biophysical degradation problems characteristics of urban sprawl and gentrification.

Aburi stands similar vulnerabilities to what happened in the Republic of Sierra Leone. The massive development in concert with massive deforestation, tree cutting and geological disturbance of top soil are primary indicators to near future flooding, mudslides and climate change. We need preventive measures such as tree planting, building permit Contingency planning/restrictive ordinances and requirements for roads , drainage and ban on tree cutting and buildings on high slope areas. The Berekuso road needs to be constructed with appropriate "state of the art" drainage, walkways and trees. . Flooding in Adenta and foothills communities of Aburi is imminent especially at the current foothill activities around the AyiMensah tollbooth shave off hillside facing Accra. This is a time bomb awaiting us.

Urban sprawl and haphazard building construction and deforestation, destruction of soil cover and biodiversity is the problem; Smart Growth and Liveability Principles and Sustainable Development underscored by mass community education is the solution. Accra metropolis and surrounding mountain range urban sprawl is spreading up

our natural ecological space, deteriorating our natural ecological landscape, emptying agricultural farming beltways, destroying traditional/cultural heritage and natural climate cores of the mountain region, creating congestion, pollution, rock falls, erosion blight, economicshifts, and contributing to social inequity, quality of life and environmental health, poor air quality, and loss of community identity.Smart Growth will provide precautionary preventive contingency urban planning space, afforestation, greenings, sustainable development, inter-generational equity, create stronger mountain range communities and regions, reduce pollution andcongestion, improve community health and abate flooding and mudslides catastrophic disasters.

The intervention framework for a holistic and innovative resiliency, preventive contingency planning and revitalization is underscored by the conceptual creation of the first Aburi Green Sustainable Development, Smart Growth Renewable Impact Zone in the mountain region of Aburi metropolis. The holistic framework will comprise of Smart Growth, Sustainable Development, Livability, Education, Environmental Justice, Sustainable Agriculture, Green Building and Renewable Energy Concepts. This is the core pillars of the resiliency contingency planning towards addressing the issues and advancing to innovative preventive precautionarysolutions. Addressing public safety, greening, afforestation, green efficient sustainable housing and availability, emptying land parcels cores, congestion, pollution, blight, economic and job stagnation, social inequity, loss of community cultural bio-physical identity and reduction of pollution and building human and community health.

Aburi Greening® “The Green Sustainable Development, Smart Growth Renewable Impact Zone” is an innovative community-based Livability, Sustainable and Smart Growth creation of green infrastructure redesign with interconnectivity systems of public and private natural areas, greenways and trails linking communities, Aburi Greeningagricultural farming corridors,historic sites and land mark preservations districts, neighborhood retail, commercial and entertainment hubs and neighborhood green, renewable energy buildings and sustainable development infrastructures throughout the Aburi Community and surrounding mountain region beltways.

This prescriptive framework for Aburi region will advance the six (6) livability principles to “support existing community dynamics and the Green Zone Preventive Contingency Planning and Resiliency. Advancing community effective strategies for creating a strong sense of place, such as street, agricultural farming traditions and public green space design that uses innovative storm water practices and sustainable green building development concurrent with protecting natural hydro-geologic formation, environmental resources, revitalize neighborhoods commercial and service sectors to spur economic development, self-reliance and optimal social benefits and community good.

The prescriptive framework for Aburi region will comprise of the following core pillars:

Innovative Key Building and Environmental Community Planning Ordinance Components and Elements:

Construction of Buildings with requirements for trees planting and prohibition of tree cutting and soil cover disruptions, Commercial Space only on main central streets and major roads arteries, BerekusoRoad/Motorway prohibition of any structures or business activities, Major Trees Planting and restoring the biodiversity along Berekuso Road/ Motorway; Pilot Demonstration Education Center and/or Building to Demonstrate Renewable Energy Technologies, Innovative Green Building Technologies and Sustainable Energy Conservation Measures and Principles in the form of an Interpretive Center for Sustainability Environmental Education for the Benefit of Local Communities. .

The prescriptive framework for Aburi region Community Green Sustainable Development, Smart Growth Renewable Impact Zone Berekusomust be driven by community empowerment led by the students and faculty of the Ashesi University, the paramount chief and the municipal government collaboration that will seek internal and external technical and monetary support..

The prescriptive framework for Aburi greening region resiliency and preventive contingency planning will meet LEED Platinum standards for green design. The Community Precautionary Contingency Plansmust include a number of programs and initiatives designed to prevent surface soil disruption, geologic formation disruption, erosion and flood prevention and improve the community socio-economic, organic agro-farming, environmental preservation, public health, public safety and human capacity development.

Advancing Renewable Energy and Green Technology Work Force Development

The emerging future sector growth in Renewable Energy and Green Technology is the gateway for global economic systems growth. The development of the workforce in this sector is warranted in the redevelopment of community revitalization in training, re-training and synthesizing the youth from primary school through college to the corporate sector. This project would provide the avenue to train and grow the sector workforce within the community and to the national job market. The creation and demonstration of the “state-of-the-art” Pilot Demonstration Education Center and/or Building to Demonstrate Renewable Energy Technologies, Innovative Green Building Technologies and Sustainable Energy Conservation Measures and Principles in the form of an Interpretive Center for Sustainability Education and for the Benefit of Local Communities.

Aburi Greening Community Sustainable Transportation Link

The prescriptive framework for Aburi region must focus on immediate completion of the Berekuso Road/Highway with prohibition of any business structuresand develop a “Walkable” Neighborhoods and a transportation infrastructure interconnected system of natural areas, greenways and trails from the Foot hills Community to the Main Aburi Downtown area. This will spur efficient and effective accessibility for inhabitance to jobs in the downtown commercial district. The redesign of existing transportation networks will principally composed of linear corridors of land along streams, roadways and within abandoned rail corridors. The greenway plan will cover new bus route and bicycle and walking tails to and from all small village Community and Downtown Business District.

  • Coordinate and promote the development of financially and environmentally sustainable rural and village communities through a comprehensive interaction between all the major stakeholders especially the new construction of homes community.
  • Engagement with the building/construction community and connecting with government entities in the initial stages of all construction development to facilitate the sharing of tools, technology and resources offered by a network of Aburi Greening stakeholders and collaborators.
  • Collaborate and develop community mass education programs to equip the community with the knowledge to contribute to the decision-making process.
  • Collaborate and develop tools for city government officials and the public with training and community outreach to deal with challenges that arise from resilience and preventive precautionary contingency planning issues.
  • The community empowerment movement led by Ashesi University must assist local government and corporate entities with an effective mass community communication, education and outreach.
  • The community empowerment movement led by AshesiUniversity must assist stakeholders in identification of specific barriers to the Aburi Greening implementation.
  • Enhance and establish stakeholders/ partnership, coordination, collaboration and public forum to:
    • Bring the community, organizations, multiple government agencies’ financial and technical resources together to help communities develop project in a way that benefits the community and is economically viable.
    • Coordinate and facilitate related technical assistance activities and share expertise with local chiefs’ and municipal government agencies to learn from each other and reduce duplication on project component.
    • Develop New Tools such as Community Participation and Involvement Guidance Document explaining the critical steps for the project components such as: Community Engagement and Community Clearinghouse for Information & Technology.

    Partnership with City of Aburi, The Chief and Native People, The Community Empowerment Movement Led by Ashesi University

    The tri-partnership will:

    • Enhance integrated planning and investment: The partnership will seek to integrate housing, transportation, water infrastructure, and land use planning and investment. The Aburi Greening shall seek to make planning and design methodologies of the Aburi Greening available to all stakeholders and create mechanisms to ensure a buy-in by all stakeholders.
    • Provide a vision for (Green ZoneResilience Sustainability Growth): Aburi Neighborhood Sustainable Renewable Impact Zone: This effort will help communities set a vision for sustainable growth and apply transportation, water infrastructure, housing, and other investments in an integrated approach that reduces the community and City of Aburi’s dependence on traditional energy and power source, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, protects Aburi's air and water, and improves quality of life. Coordinating planning efforts in housing, transportation, air quality, and water—including planning cycles, processes, and geographic coverage will make more effective use of low income and affordable housing and transportation planning and assistanceship to rural village dwellers.
    • Green building technologies for sustainable housing construction and make it transparent: The partnership will develop ordinances for preventive environmental destruction, deterioration and applyaffordability measures that include maintaining the cultural, traditional and environmental/ natural land characteristics.
    • Redevelop Retail, Commercial, Entertainment and Recreational/Tourism Hubs within the Aburi Greenbelt Zone Neighborhood: The partnership will work to achieve critical enviro-economic development through establishment of innovative retail shops, commercial outlets, and entertainment centers. Brownfields and Environmental Justice goals and other environmental goals by targeting development to existing infrastructure and offer transportation choices. Aburi Greenbelt Neighborhood is in within 1 mile radius of the Main Street from the Toll booth foot hills through the Downtown Central Business District and the Berekuso Road Corridor in addition to the areas that boarder major main streets. This is a particular concern where disinvestment and past industrial use caused pollution and a legacy of waste piles contaminated or abandoned sites. This partnership will help return such sites to productive use and use as Waste-to-Energy that will advance the Green Zone Concept of Aburi Greening Community.
    • Develop livability measures and tools: The partnership will jointly develop with the community stakeholders measures that indicate the livability of Aburi community, neighborhoods, and metropolitan areas. These measures could be adopted in subsequent integrated planning efforts to benchmark existing conditions, measure progress toward achieving community visions, and increase accountability. The MMDA, Paramount Chief and the Ashesi University students and faculty with its technical management team will help the community attain livability goals by developing and providing analytical tools to evaluate progress, as well as in-country and external foreign technical assistance programs to remove barriers to coordinated housing, transportation, and environmental protection investments. The partnership will develop incentives to encourage the community to abide by, use, and publicize the measures within its household.
    • Align Ashesi University Technical and Education Strengthen:MMDA, Paramount Chief and its collaborating partners will work with Ashesi University as a partner to assure that their technical and education programs for the projects will maximize the benefits of their combined investments in the community for livability, affordability, building technology and ICT/IT, workforce development and training, entrepreneurship leadership training, environmental excellence, and the promotion of green jobs of the future for the community. MMDA, Paramount Chief and its collaborating partners and stakeholders will work together to identify opportunities to better coordinate all facets of the Aburi Greening and encourage location efficiency in housing and transportation network, forestation greening choices by the community inhabitants. MMDA, Paramount Chief will share information and review processes to facilitate better-informed decisions and coordinate investments.

    Green Building, Sustainable Development, Livability, Smart Growth and Infrastructure Scheme

    The Aburi Greening paradigm will facilitate subsidingerosion, flooding, vegetation cover lost, abatement of biodiversity loss, green buildings and sustainable buildings design and development. The buildings infrastructure permitting and mandates/ordinance will be designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource renewable energy efficient manner. The objectives will to create new sector jobs for the community during construction and maintenance in addition to protecting occupant health; improving retail, commercial sector and community occupants employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment. The Aburi Greening will ensure minimal green build overall construction and ensure lower operating costs over the life of the building. The Aburi Green Zone will provide all green building infrastructures to meet the project life cycle cost analysis for determining the appropriate up-front expenditure. This analytical method calculates costs over the useful life of the asset building construction efficiency. Realization of actual cost savings will be applicable since approach of these green elements will be incorporated at the project's conceptual design phase with the assistance of an integrated team of engineering, environmental scientist, urban planners and other applicable and appropriate professionals. The integrated team approach paradigm systems will ensure that the building is designed as one system rather than a collection of stand-alone systems. Community good and benefits will include but not limited to: improving community occupant health, comfort, productivity, reducing pollution, household waste, solid waste, recycling and collection, landfill waste will adequately be considered in cost analysis. For this reason, consider setting aside a small portion of the building budget to cover differential costs associated with less tangible green building benefits or to cover the cost of researching and analyzing innovative green building options such as considering community dynamics, hydro-geologic and environmental siting and taking advantage of mass transit and the Aburi Greening Transportation Link core pillar of the Aburi Greening framework. Hence, the design and paradigm approach shall protect and retain existing landscaping and natural features. Landscape design shall include local plants and fauna species that have low water and pesticide needs, and generate minimum plant trimmings and utilize compost and mulches from the community. Some greening and renewable energy elements will include:

    1. Green roof
    2. Energy-efficient lighting
    3. Solar
    4. Wind technology
    5. Geothermal
    6. Electrical connection
    7. Public Botanical Garden and Eco-Sustainable Landscaping
    8. Rain Garden and Storm Water Collection for irrigation
    9. Public digital interactive information education center on green eco-city and renewable energy technologies and green job training
    10. Mono Rail to the Accra Kotoka International Airport
    11. Berekuso Road Motorway Pedestrian Tourism Walkway/Broadwalk

    Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Accessibility

    The green building shall be design in accordance with state and local codes and beyond any existing energy efficiency levels in the nation to achieve a net zero energy building and LEEDS standards. The green building mission will be well design strategies to affect building energy performance. These strategies will include building shape and orientation, passive solar design, and the use of natural lighting. Installation of high-efficiency lighting systems with advanced lighting controls. Include motion sensors tied to dimmable lighting controls, properly sized and energy-efficient heat/cooling system in conjunction with a thermally efficient building shell, optimal light colors for roofing and wall finish materials; install high R-value wall and ceiling insulation; and use maximum glass on exposures. Other design concepts will ensure minimum electric loads from lighting, equipment, and appliances and using alternative energy such as photovoltaic and fuel cells and the renewable waste-to-energy proposed electricity and power from the White Street Landfill. All the buildings will have a centralized Computer modeling system as but of the Aburi Green Zone to optimize the water availability and sustainability, electrical and mechanical systems of the buildings.

    Materials Efficiencyand Sustainable Construction Materials

    The Aburi Greening will utilize as much as possible recyclable materials for construction and products by evaluating several characteristics such as reused and recycled content, zero or low off gassing of harmful air emissions, zero or low toxicity, sustainably harvested materials, high recyclability, sustainability, durability, longevity, and local manufacture construction products. This approach will ensure that all construction products used will promote resource conservation and efficiency. This will also boost jobs and sector economic development and develop markets for recycled materials within the Bessemer community. Utilization of Aburi Greening’s dimensional planning and other material efficiency such as reuse and recycle construction and demolition materials considerations will reduce the amount of building materials needed and cut construction costs.

    Water Efficiency, Conservationand Availability

    The Aburi Greening will design for dual plumbing to use recycled water for toilet flushing or a gray water system that recovers rainwater or other non-potable water for site irrigation. Minimize wastewater by using ultra low-flush toilets, low-flow shower heads, and other water conserving fixtures. Other design paradigm concepts include but not limited to: using re-circulative systems for centralized hot water distribution; Installation of point-of-use hot water heating systems for more distant locations; utilization of water budget system approach and creating a centralized automation Water Management Information System and implementation of the “state-of-the-art” irrigation controllers and self-closing nozzles systems.

    Occupant Health and Public Safety

    The Aburi Greening Community is faced with Deforestation, Climate Change, Erosion, Building Construction Inadequacies, Brownfields and Environmental Justice issues. The Waste piles and illegal/inappropriate hill side building construction and disturbance of top soil formation is just within 1/2 mile radius of the Green Zone within major streets and on the Berekuso Road and transportation network. The Community health has been in jeopardy for several years, high rate of degradation of the biophysical environs and inappropriate housing structures including massive top soil erosion and rock falls of the Green belt zone has left the community with deteriorating infrastructure and quality of life. The majority of the inhabitants are low income natives farmers and a growing high income local and foreign migrants minorities. The Aburi Greening herein considers these socio-economic and environmental factors and thereby conceptualizes a framework for an holistic contingency preventive measures and revitalization that will address public safety and health. Sustainability of the future occupational health and public safety will be in concert with the green buildings construction which will ensure good overall environmental and human health quality and hence reduce the rate of respiratory disease, allergy, asthma, sick building symptoms, and enhance worker performance. The potential financial benefits of improving indoor environments exceed costs by a factor of 8 and 14 (reference Fisk and Rosenfeld, 1998) . Once again the project green and sustainability framework shall ensure that construction materials and interior finish products utilized will result in zero or low emissions to improve indoor air quality. The utilization of green building materials, non-toxic and natural cleaning and maintenance products that emit low or zero toxic gases. This will ensure low risk to human health and productivity. Building design standards shall provide for adequate ventilation and a high-efficiency, materials resistant to microbial growth, in-duct filtration system and HVAC systems that ensure adequate ventilation and proper filtration to lower the negative impact on indoor and ambient air quality.

    Steps to Ensure Success and Quantitative and Qualitative Outcome Measurements

    • Aburi Greening establishes a holistic Community and aAburi Greening Mission, Vision and Objectives that embraces sustainable principles and an integrated design approach.
    • Aburi Greening will develop a clear statement of the project's vision, goals, design criteria, and community and stakeholders priorities.
    • Aburi Greening will develop a project budget that covers green building measures. Aburi Greening will allocate socioeconomic, environmental and human capacity building contingencies for additional revitalization and sustainable development research and analysis of specific Smart Growth and Sustainable Development options.
    • Aburi Greening will seek corporate and private sector involvement in agricultural/farming, retail, service and commercial relocation to the community and seek job creation, training sponsorship or grant opportunities to facilitate such.
    • Aburi Greening will seek and apply national and international design and application of green building, sustainable development and renewable energy experience and success.
    • Aburi Greening will assemble and select a proven design and construction team and sub-contractors to ensure the contractors have appropriate qualifications to identify, select, and implement an integrated system of green building sustainable and renewable measures.
    • Aburi Greening will develop a milestones, timelines, quarterly and annual reports that allows for Monitoring and Evaluation and Accounting Audits.
    • Aburi Greening will develop effective building permits that incorporates mandatory tree planting, storm water, erosion, street covered gutters, contingency preventive plans and specifications to ensure that the building’s design and construction are at a suitable level of building performance, standards and specification.
    • Aburi Greening will establish a system that will ensure effective incentives for stakeholders and oversight of deliverables.

    Precautionary, Preventive Revitalization Programs Planning and Implementation Partnering for Optimal Success

    The Aburi Greening set forth a first-ever Green Zone Sustainable Smart Growth and Revitalization within a low-income, minority community that is underscored by the positive synergies that resides in socio-economic development, human health, environmental and human capacity development that eradicates poverty, starvation, dilapidation, gentrification, environmental justice and brownfields symptoms. This conceptual design and vision cannot be achieved unilaterally but with all stakeholders within the private and public sector. The Aburi Greening Community Redevelopment will actively involve all government agencies, homebuilder associations, professional and environmental groups, corporate sector especially in the retail, commercial and training sector and others within the green building and renewable energy technologies sector. Partnerships with applicable MMDA, Chiefs, State government agencies, local governments, and schools and universities and colleges within the Aburi metropolitan mountain region will be activated and constructed to encourage and participate in the implementation of the Bessemer Community sustainable building project. This approach will advance Ashesi University to educate and encourage market transformations so that sustainable building practices are incorporated in advancing communities Smart Growth and Greening Sustainable Development and advancing sector job training and career development in Ghana and Sub- Saharan Africa region’s local, schools, colleges and universities.

    Project Significant Awareness, Contingency and Response Action Components

    • Community Environmental Sustainability Programs include efforts to improve the community’s air quality, effective storm water management, energy, solid waste reduction, recycling efforts and proper disposal of household hazardous waste.
    • Community Emergency Services and Mountain Range Homeland Securityprovide emergency response planning and coordination of emergency medical and rescue services in the area.
    • CommunityPublic Safety includes coordinating the regional Emergency Ambulance system and providing assistance in training and recruitment for dispatch centers.
    • Community Emergency Weather Forecasting and Response Center will provide immediate and rapid community action to catastrophic natural disasters
    • The Ashesi Training &Sustainable Development Leadership Program will offer high-quality and cost effective classes and seminars to local elected officials and government employees.
    • The Community and Stakeholders Innovations Forum provides support for city and MMDA administrators through the Managers' Roundtable, and coordinates cooperative purchasing efforts through the
    • The Surrounding Small Mountain Region Cities program provides administrative, planning and informational resources to smaller local governments that need assistance.
    • The Business and Community Coalition helps local governments in older communities that form an inner ring around the urban core find solutions to common problems with maintaining housing and public infrastructure and retaining competitive commercial areas.

    Quality Principles for Homes & Neighborhoods , Commercial Properties , Transportation, Public Safety and Environment and Open Public Places

    The Aburi Greening® Greenology Community Precautionary, Preventive & Contingency Principles:

    Sustainable Choice of Neighborhood Commerce and Job Creation:
    Maintaining the tradition rural setting dynamics whilst Development of quality green sustainable commercial and retail neighborhoods offer a choice of green sustainable renewable energy infrastructure with well-designed and maintained commercial business hub and mixed affordable housing types and sizes ( Condos and Apartments).

    Community Educational Center, Green Job Creation and Sustainable Agricultural Farming Workforce Development: This core element will be instituted under the creation and demonstration of the “state-of-the-art” Pilot Demonstration Education Center and/or Building to Demonstrate Aburi Greening, Renewable Energy Technologies, Innovative Green Building Technologies and Sustainable Energy Conservation Measures and Principles in the form of an Interpretive Center for Sustainability Education, Biodiversity, Cultural Heritage, Eco-Tourism for the Benefit of Local Communities.

    The Ashesi University is strategically positioned to offer the following training that could be incorporated into existing curriculum and provided to all trainees in the proposed program: i).Renewable Energy and Green Technologies; OSHA; 40-hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER); i). Erosion, storm water management, water security and water quality management; ii).Flood Prevention awareness training; iii). Solid Waste Management or Cleanup related awareness training (e.g., recycling center operator training, waste piles sites remediation and capping, demolition and debris collection and recycling, etc.); and, iv). Innovative and alternative sanitation treatment technologies awareness-related training (e.g., solar installation, green remediation techniques, phytoremediation, soil amendments, advanced sampling instrument operator training, stormwater management or bioswale system site preparation, etc.)

    Aburi Greening Community Sustainable Transportation Linkages:
    Design and creation of inter-modal quality mono rail neighborhoods transportation access and links to Downtown Central Business District areas jointly with Berekuso Motorway to Accra, sharing commercial and retail and commence spaces within assigned corridors

    Community Assets and Capital Reinvestment:
    Develop in-community commence and green farming, tourism job creation that will advance inhabitants actions to preserve, conserve, invest and redevelop vital commercial activities

    Community Sense of Cultural and Traditional Identity:
    Maintain and preserve the characteristics and distinct dynamics of the community identity that is define by its people, geography and history.

    Open Space and Greening:
    Develop and design existing and potential public green spaces especially on sloppy hills and terrains that are within the community and connecting to the downtown Aburi and other parks and recreational places within and around community

    Interactions with Streets and Community Pedestrian/Bike:
    Design and develop existing streets especially the Berekuso Motorway Road to facilitate community and Tourism walkway/broad walk and pedestrian-biking, walking friendly system to the Accra and surrounding metropolis commercial hubs, interconnected and attractively landscaped to encourage walking.

    Affordable Senior and Low Income Housing to Promote Live/Work Community:
    Design and develop mix used housing and commercial and retail centers that will provide residents to work and live within the main roads neighborhood corridors.

    Mixed Housing and Commercial Use:
    The sustainable approach underscored by Smart Growth will design a mix used hub that will provide community residents the opportunity work and live within the community. Community Commercial Revitalization and Development will be achieved through attention to the design of mix of uses, scale and the ways in which pedestrians, bicycles, public transit and motor vehicles are accommodated and affordable housing is established

    Design and Redevelopment Scaling:
    Develop and design quality building structures, building oridances and comprehensive building permits that will be integral to the functioning community and surroundings biophysical natural environs to address deforestation, erosion, flooding, drainage, stormwater controls (point and non-point sources) management system and accommodate mix of uses redevelopment and precautionary development.

    Building and Community Structural Durability:
    Design and develop an infrastructure that is durable and built to be sustainable with quality sustainable building materials, will be designed to allow for future changes and reuse, earthquake resistance and provide for shifting markets and community needs.

    Community Youth Leadership and Green Agro-Farming and Eco-Tourism Entrepreneur Training and Capacity Building: Promote Aburi Greening Eco-City Student Entrepreneurship Club (within the Ashesi University system) entrepreneurship students coordinate with the community youth to learn and practice entrepreneurship through education, networking, and launching new ventures. The objectives of this programscheme in addition to the Faith-Based capacity of the Aburi community at large are to: i). provide as a forum for the community youth to network and learn about starting and growing their green business
    ii). Connect students and youth to local and alumni engineers, IT green entrepreneurs
    iii). Provide educational and other support to community youth and high students interested in the entrepreneurship.

    University Engineering, IT, Environmental Sustainability, Urban Planning Community Education Interaction:

    The Ashesi University is well positioned to provide community training programming in the following areas:

    K-12 Youth Programs (K-8 Programs & 6-12 Pre-College Programs)

    K-20 Professional Development

    K-12 Parent & Community Outreach

    Inhabitants and Community Walkable Space:
    Design and improve eco-friendly green space sidewalks, storefronts that open to the street, shade and shelter provide the inhabitants and community pedestrian an optimal access to open space, trails, connectivity to downtown and surrounding neighborhood and commercial hubs within the community.

    Community Parking:
    Design ample and adequate green eco-friendly parking spaces and choices consistent with the scale of the community revitalization and development. Optimization of the commercial districts, housing location and the type of retail and services will provide quality commerce development.

    Environmental Management, Public Health, Water and Air Quality:
    Design and eradicate negative socio-environmental, human health impacts and incorporate sustainable features and amenities that optimizes sound environmental management of water quality, water sustainability, surface water bodies restoration and preservation, human health, household municipal solid waste/hazardous wastes, toxics substances and air quality. Advancing carbon sinks and intensify forest cover trees planning and surface soils grass and vegetation cover

    Renewable Energy and Sustainable Resource Efficiency:
    Redesigning buildings and properties with the optimal resource efficiency and sustainable principles will maximize the efficient use of environmental tools and management and financial resources

    Natural Resources Elements:
    Preservation of natural resources for future generation by preserving major natural features as open space, historical buildings and sites, and links those natural elements to public places and community recreational networks.

    Advancement of Multimodal Transportation Networks:
    Advance the redevelopment of the transportation systems with major hubs within and external to the surrounding community such as the Downtown Business District to the Accra KotokaAirport and other major areas within the surrounding metropolitan area via balancing use and access to automobiles, public transit, freight, public safety vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles

    Community Streets and Ecological Tourism Trails:
    Improve the community walk trails, streets networks and integrate such with the surrounding streets, roads and highways as a part of a larger network of routes designed to provide access to homes, shops, businesses and centers.

    Bicycle/Pedestrian Access:
    Reduce congestion and improve alternative mode of travel to the core business and commercial hubs . Expand major streets to include bikr paths and walk ways

    Community and Regional Transit-Supportive Development:
    Improve the community streets systems and network to complement the triad area public transit network and allow mass transit mode of travel to become a viable alternative to the automobile

    Community Public Spaces:
    The redevelopment of sloppy hub to open green spaces will serve multiple functions and the most important is a community gathering and association public place, tourism recreational areas that will encourage community social interaction and foster a distinct sense of place, landscape preservation, mudslides prevention and climate change abatement

    The Aburi Greening is design to be the first of a kind Sustainable Smart Growth Green Impact Zone Demonstration and Preventive, Contingency Planning of a vulnerable Aburi Mountain Range community. The paradigm design creates an innovative sustainable green and renewable energy infrastructure for a mix-use development. The Aburi Greening must focus on establishment of an holistic innovative multi-disciplinary Community Revitalization and Development. The innovative model is underscore by Smart Growth, Livability, Sustainable Development, Green Renewable Energy principles. The modalities of the Aburi Greening shall develop a “state-of-the-art” Pilot Demonstration Education Center and/or Building to Demonstrate Renewable Energy Technologies, Innovative Green Building Technologies and Sustainable Energy Conservation Measures and Principles in the form of an Interpretive Center for Sustainability Education and for the Benefit of Local Communities. The Eco-Sustainable City Model will focus on Effectiveness, Efficiency and Cost Savings measures by reducing workload by 20% as compared to other Community Economic Development and Revitalization programs in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The Aburi Greening will advance urban infrastructure planning and economic development elements skills and greenworkforce capacity development, educational and technologies development, mechanical and environmental engineeringincluding social engineering capacity development, environmental planning and recreational sector enterprise capacity building and optimal community safety capacity building. Community “bottom-up” engagement is a core pillar of the project and shall be designed to maximize the community stakeholder’s engagement in all aspects of the Aburi Greening design and implementation utilizing social new-working and automate email and internet communication capacity; creating and store accurate, reliable data and protecting data with the best security measures and contingency planning. The Aburi Greening will build upon the positive synergies that reside within the transformative community sustainable development which is underscore by energy efficiency and green renewable energy, environmental engineering, transportation and accessibility, eradication of gentrification, brownfields, environmental justice and human health and environmental protection. The overall arching positive synergic factors reside within the socio-economic, human/housing capacity, jobs creation and environmental development and mass community education.

    The Aburi Greening will serve as a prototype and model for other community innovative holistic revitalization. The unique greening and precautionary model will comprise of various activities and programs that are in concert with the preamble, goals, objectives and mission of the Aburi Greening Choice Neighborhood Initiative The core activities addresses dynamic socio-economic, environmental, public health, public safety, education and crime challenges and issues within a severely vulnerable community.

    VISION & MISSION:
    Achieve Significant Aburi Mountain Range Community Transformation via the Aburi Greening® Greenology Community Precautionary Revitalization Principles to achieve optimal Community Environmental Infrastructure Improvement through Assistance and Technology, Knowledge Transfer to MMDA and Local Governments and Community Stakeholders for Revitalization, Socio-Economic Development, Green Job Training, Sustainable Agro-Farming, Commercial and Retail Building Construction, Preserving, Environmental Sustainability and Improvement of Community Infrastructure System, Innovations and Voluntary Collaborations.

    GOAL:
    Promote Smart Growth, Livability and Renewable Energy Community Design and Development through Aburi Greening® Greenology Community Precautionary Revitalization Principles

    OBJECTIVE:
    Revitalize Community to prevent environmental and human calamities,create green jobs, eradicate poverty, low productivity and advance a vibrant eco-sustainable infrastructure community.

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