Unpacking the drivers and effects of localized flooding in Glefe (Accra) and residents’ autonomous adaptation strategies

Coastal communities in Ghana face pollution threats from industrial, agricultural, and urban activities. Glefe, which is entirely coastal, is especially vulnerable to these issues, along with tropical storms, rising sea levels, and localized flooding that may result from climate change. The increased demand for land has worsened these situations and attracted a large and diverse body of scholarship. However, residents feel that the local governance structure evokes competing concerns, interests, and ideas, some of which gain traction. This article provides an original and critical analysis of residents’ independent measures to become self-sufficient in facing their vulnerabilities, some of which inadvertently create new hazards. In doing so, it contributes to scholarship on two fronts: First, by exploring the interconnectedness and changeability of the governance structure, the research reveals how poor planning, insufficient stakeholder involvement, inadequate flood infrastructure, and lack of interest from city officials contribute to localized flooding. Second, it adapts the concept of autonomous adaptation to explain and interpret how residents independently respond to these hazards and how their actions sometimes increase their local vulnerability. From a broader perspective, this contributes to understanding relations between individual agencies, organizational behavior, institutions, and social context.