One of our Principals, Robby Layton, is currently working on a PhD and teaching at North Carolina State University. He sends this report:

The faculty and students at North Carolina State University College of Design are extending the reach and impact of landscape architecture to far corners of the globe. This can be seen in the recent draft report on the NCSU Landscape Architecture program’s study abroad activities in Ghana this past summer. Professor Kofi Boone says that African cities are expected to be the fastest-growing cities in the world of the near future, and that there is a need for urban strategies to deal with a wide range of issues facing people there.

Kofi notes that cultural traditions in Ghana include many different types of public spaces, but that parks are notably lacking there. He points out that Accra, a city of 4.5 million people, has only about a half-dozen places that might be considered “parks”, and that these do not see a lot of use. Adapting these places to both traditional and contemporary needs of people could change this and affect the lives of millions of people. This was the challenge that the Ghana International Design Studio students took on, working with the Mmofra Foundation to generate both long-term visions and small-scale actions that utilize resources and skills close at hand to positively influence urban spaces across West Africa. Their report beautifully illustrates this work. You can see it yourself at:

http://issuu.com/kofiboone/docs/playtime_in_africa_student_report_f/1

And to learn more about the Mmofra Foundation, visit their web site:

 http://mmofraghana.org/our-work/playtime-in-africa-initiative/