Mapping the Invisible and Real "African" Economy

Urban E-Waste Circuitry

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11670593
AutoresRichard Grant (0000-0002-5409-8117, University of Miami, autor de correspondencia), Martin Oteng‐ababio (0000-0003-1474-760X, University of Ghana), Martin Oteng-Ababio
Año2012
Volumen33
Número1
Páginas1-21
Fecha de publicación2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaUrban Geography (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0272-3638 • E-ISSN: 1938-2847
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2747/0272-3638.33.1.1
OpenAlexW2061777475
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas86
Referencias citadas27

E-waste is a more than $7 billion industry. Trans-border shipments of e-waste occur in international circuits, typically originating in the United States and Europe, but now also from China, and connect to accumulation sites in particular networked cities in Africa and elsewhere. Debates about the material and environmental weight associated with uncontrolled dumping are now emerging in Africa. We diverge from those debates by concentrating on the economic footprint of e-waste in a Ghanaian context by studying the largest and most prominent e-waste market—Agbogbloshie. This Accra site has achieved notoriety in the global media and among nongovernmental organizations (NGOS), but has received little research and policy attention. In an attempt to remedy this deficiency, a preliminary mapping of e-waste flows of second-hand computers into Ghana is presented. We then map the spatial organization of the e-waste hub and assess meshworks of e-waste activities, elucidating worlds of informal work. This research involved site reconnaissance, 80 questionnaires, and 40 interviews with key stakeholders. Our key finding is that e-waste activities connect Agbogbloshie directly and indirectly to various international circuits, and, most important, thereby articulates a market within a wider urban space-economy. The emphasis is on the intersections of various e-waste conduits as well as shared space within urban informal-formal circuitry

Business · China · Context (archaeology · Dumping · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Electronic waste · Environmental planning · Geography · Informal sector · International trade · Political science · Regional science · Sociology · Waste management · Work (physics · Engineering · Law · Recycling and Waste Management Techniques · Urban and Rural Development Challenges · Water Governance and Infrastructure