**1. Introduction**

In the last three decades, the common discourse binding together cities in Ghana has been shrinking public welfare system and disintegration of formal job markets [1, 2]. As Thieme [3] remarks, "this has suspended and/or reshaped work opportunities for many in the potentially working population, particularly women." The many years of acute confluence of austerity have had profound implications on both psychosocial and economic make-up of women and other marginalized groups in Ghana such that their daily experiences and encounters are characterized by uncertainties and prolonged periods of desperation [2, 4]. Although Ghana has recently experienced remarkable economic growth [5], this has not translated into sufficient job creation, thereby creating a niche for the informal sector which is estimated to provide approximately 70% of jobs for women who are trapped in perpetual poverty [6].

Characteristically in many Ghanaian cities, vending of roasted traditional foods (RTF) has increasingly become a socially and economically constituted process that mediates how majority of women deal with livelihood challenges [6, 7]. This perspective highlights the important role informality plays in developing economies. Even with visible evidence, the sector is generally presented as a marginalize sector of the urban economy and suggest that only market-led economic solutions can offer job opportunities and enhance quality of life [8–11]. As Chen [7] observes, such scholars perceive the informal economy as a barrier to full participation in national economies and a hindrance to long-term development and poverty reduction [12]. Meanwhile, research has revealed that the informal economy can reach higher level of organization, change the economic configuration of cities and increase the organization of labor across local, regional and global scales [11, 13, 14].

Approaches to studying urban informal livelihood have been increasing over time [6, 7, 15]. Asiedu and Agyei-Mensah [16], for instance, focused on migrants' engagement in informal economic activities within urban settings highlighting on their survivalist strategies. Wrigley-Asante [15], expanded the knowledge base of informality in Ghana from the feminist perspective by focusing on how young female internal migrants move from rural areas to urban centers to change their life circumstances. Owusu-Sekyere et al. [17] examined the implications of informal street trading for urban governance in Kumasi. Specifically, they highlighted the daily struggles between city managers and street traders and the various strategies adopted by city authorities to decongest the streets of informal traders. Writing on informalization in Ghana, Oteng-Ababio [6], explored the complexities, degree of organizations and embedded potentials in selected informal worlds of work involving women in Agbogbloshie who engage in waste recycling.

Whilst the literature highlights the variety of activities in the informal economic sector, RTF has not attracted particular attention. Meanwhile the sector has long history of economic significance in Ghana. It provides jobs and serves as linkages between rural agriculture and the modern urban economy [3, 18]. The economic significance notwithstanding, researchers on RTF in Ghana have concentrated on quality issues, safety requirements and regulations [18, 19]. This research focuses on how women in Kumasi, Ghana have used vending of RTF to navigate precarious urban job environments to lunch themselves sustainable employment. The objective is to contribute to current scholarly discourse on informality by highlighting the creative enterprises of women who engage in RTF in urban Ghana, often excluded from growth and development potentials and 'trapped in external dependencies' [6, 20, 21]. The rest of the study is organized as follows: the next section discusses the theoretical debates on the subject while the methodology of the study is briefly outlined subsequently. The research results are subsequently presented and discussed. The paper concludes by stressing the significance of the informal sector in the overall urban economy.

#### **1.1 Urban design and the genesis of informality**

In general terms, the concept of urban design connotes the art of making a place safe, comfortable and inviting places for people. It includes the way places look, work and feel. It also includes the connections between places and buildings, the character of the built environment and the processes used for ensuring successful cities among others [8, 22]. On the other hand, evolution of informality in Ghana has a long history. Chronological explanations credit Keith Hart—A British anthropologist to have used the term for the first time to characterize unaccounted employment opportunities in the world of work [6, 23]. Hart studied how uneducated and inexperienced migrants from Northern Ghana who could not find wage

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*Urban Design, Space Economy and Survival in the City: Exploring Women's World of Work…*

employment in Accra negotiated a living by engaging low-income and unregulated livelihood activities [7]. Theoretically, the debate on the informal sector has been dominated by three schools of thought: the dualist, structuralist and legalistic. The dualist school was first popularized by International Labor Organization (ILO) in the 1970s. They argue that there are two types of urban economies; the poor/ informally/unemployed and the rich/formally employed. They indicate that the informal sector of the economy involves small-scale production, family ownership, labor intensive techniques and mainly produce goods and create employment and income for the poor [18]. Conversely, the formal sector is characterized by largescale production, incorporation, and the use of capital intensive technology. The ILO concludes that the informal sector mainly articulates small-scale performance

The structuralist school of thought does not discount the arguments of the dualist [7]. They contend however, that formal and informal sectors are linked to one another and that the informal sector is subordinate to the formal sector. They argue that the informal sector is an integral component of total national economies, rather than the thinking that they are a marginal appendage to them [24]. This by implication means that there is a mutual corporation between the two: the informal sector supply inputs, finished goods or services either through direct transactions or via sub-contracting arrangements while the formal enterprises hire wage workers under informal employment relations as a way of reducing labor costs [7]. While the symbiotic relationship, according to the structuralist has been beneficial, the formal economy always enjoys a

The legalist argue that the popularity of the informal sector in developing economies is due to unclear and fragmented institutional and legal structures guiding the business environment. This situation restricts fair participation in the formal political and economic systems [25]. They argue that difficulties in obtaining a business license, hiring employees, knowing and complying with applicable government rules and regulations, obtaining a loan, paying taxes, enforcing a contract, and so forth have compelled many businesses to join the informal sector

The three schools have provided insights for better understanding of the popularity of informality. Ghana's informal sector started gaining popularity between 1970s and 1980s, a period characterized by general economic decline. The declining real wages and employment resulted in large scale poverty in the urban centers [26]. The years of economic decline was followed by structural adjustments which required cutbacks in government spending and public sector downsizing in general, resulting in increased unemployment in the formal sector [25]. The wide-spread economic restructuring which resulted in the formal sector's inability to generate jobs pushed many into the informal sector. Other scholars [27, 28] also argue that the popularity of the informal sector activities is due to the urban bias and labor related policies where planning was deliberately urban centered to the detriment of rural areas. This deliberate policy meant that leaders devoted the vast majority of resources towards urban development to the determinant of rural areas with direct support from development agencies and international financial institutions. The effects of such decisions were the migration of the youth to the urban centers that were not sufficiently prepared to provide formal jobs for the new urban dwellers.

The study was conducted in the Kumasi, a city whose interconnectedness with

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89673*

and is somehow isolated from the formal sector.

dominant power relationship over the informal economy [24].

where there is little or no enforcement of business laws.

**2. Study context and methodology**

informal activities has been well documented (**Figure 1**).

#### *Urban Design, Space Economy and Survival in the City: Exploring Women's World of Work… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89673*

employment in Accra negotiated a living by engaging low-income and unregulated livelihood activities [7]. Theoretically, the debate on the informal sector has been dominated by three schools of thought: the dualist, structuralist and legalistic. The dualist school was first popularized by International Labor Organization (ILO) in the 1970s. They argue that there are two types of urban economies; the poor/ informally/unemployed and the rich/formally employed. They indicate that the informal sector of the economy involves small-scale production, family ownership, labor intensive techniques and mainly produce goods and create employment and income for the poor [18]. Conversely, the formal sector is characterized by largescale production, incorporation, and the use of capital intensive technology. The ILO concludes that the informal sector mainly articulates small-scale performance and is somehow isolated from the formal sector.

The structuralist school of thought does not discount the arguments of the dualist [7]. They contend however, that formal and informal sectors are linked to one another and that the informal sector is subordinate to the formal sector. They argue that the informal sector is an integral component of total national economies, rather than the thinking that they are a marginal appendage to them [24]. This by implication means that there is a mutual corporation between the two: the informal sector supply inputs, finished goods or services either through direct transactions or via sub-contracting arrangements while the formal enterprises hire wage workers under informal employment relations as a way of reducing labor costs [7]. While the symbiotic relationship, according to the structuralist has been beneficial, the formal economy always enjoys a dominant power relationship over the informal economy [24].

The legalist argue that the popularity of the informal sector in developing economies is due to unclear and fragmented institutional and legal structures guiding the business environment. This situation restricts fair participation in the formal political and economic systems [25]. They argue that difficulties in obtaining a business license, hiring employees, knowing and complying with applicable government rules and regulations, obtaining a loan, paying taxes, enforcing a contract, and so forth have compelled many businesses to join the informal sector where there is little or no enforcement of business laws.

The three schools have provided insights for better understanding of the popularity of informality. Ghana's informal sector started gaining popularity between 1970s and 1980s, a period characterized by general economic decline. The declining real wages and employment resulted in large scale poverty in the urban centers [26]. The years of economic decline was followed by structural adjustments which required cutbacks in government spending and public sector downsizing in general, resulting in increased unemployment in the formal sector [25]. The wide-spread economic restructuring which resulted in the formal sector's inability to generate jobs pushed many into the informal sector. Other scholars [27, 28] also argue that the popularity of the informal sector activities is due to the urban bias and labor related policies where planning was deliberately urban centered to the detriment of rural areas. This deliberate policy meant that leaders devoted the vast majority of resources towards urban development to the determinant of rural areas with direct support from development agencies and international financial institutions. The effects of such decisions were the migration of the youth to the urban centers that were not sufficiently prepared to provide formal jobs for the new urban dwellers.
