Dr (Mrs) Rosina Sheburah Essien

Contact info rsessien@ug.edu.gh

About

I am a human geographer with research experience in urban studies, climate change, gender, migration, market and solid waste management. My work draws from the theoretical perspectives of urban political ecology (UPE), southern urbanism, and adaptive urbanism. I advocate for policies that are sensitive to local contexts, promote engaged pluralism, and recognize the everyday practices of informal actors. Currently, my research focuses on understanding the roles of state and non-state actors in ‘Making Africa Urban’ through large-scale infrastructure projects such as malls, roads, and climate-resilient developments. I co-teach the following graduate courses:

 

Undergraduate courses

GEOD 305: Research Design and Qualitative Methods for Geographers (Main Campus)

GEOD 305: Research Design and Qualitative Methods for Geographers (City Campus)

 

Graduate courses

GEOD 603: Research Techniques and Qualitative Methods 

GEOD 701: Research Techniques and Qualitative Methods 

Education

2021: PhD (Geography and Environmental Studies), Stellenbosch University, South Africa

2016: MPhil (Development Geography), University of Bergen, Norway

2013: BA (Geography & Resource Development/Archaeology), University of Ghana, Legon

Research Interest

  • Urban Environmental Issues
  • Urban Infrastructure
  • Urban Markets
  • Migration and development
  • Gender and Intersectionality Studies

Research Grants

2022-2025: Making Africa Urban: The Transcalar Politics of Large-Scale Urban Development funded by European Research Council (ERC) (Early Career).

2023-2024: Building Urban Resilience: Volarizing informal solid waste sector in low-income communities of Accra funded by Talloires Network (TN) & Open Society University Network (OSUN).

2019-2021: Next Generation Social Scientists Africa Doctoral Fellowship funded by the University of Stellenbosch Graduate School, South Africa. 

2014-2016: Norwegian Quota Scholarship funded by the Norwegian Government.

Publications

  1. Owusu, V., Sheburah Essien, R., & Adjei, M. (2025). The same old story: ‘Saiko’ practices and coastal livelihoods in Ghana’s small-scale fisheries. Marine Policy, 173, 106-573.
  2. Sheburah Essien, R., & Spocter, M. (2024). “Be ready to pay because others are paying”: Contested solid waste management transitions and charges in Accra’s open-air markets. Local Environment.
  3. Robinson J., Harrison P., Croese S., Sheburah Essien R., Kombe W., Lane M., Mwathunga E., & Owusu G. (2024). Reframing urban development politics: Transcalarity in sovereign, developmental and private circuits. Urban Studies, 1-27. 
  4. Yaro, J. A., Sheburah Essien, R., Ablo, A. D., Siakwah, P., & Zaami, M. (2024). Female farmers’ struggles and responses to COVID-19 in Ghana. African Geographical Review, 1-14.
  5. Sheburah Essien R & Spocter M (2024). Local market Institutions and solid waste management in Accra’s open-air markets. African Studies, 1-19.
  6. Amedzro, K. K., Sheburah Essien, R., Issah, M. A., & Owusu, G. (2024). Large-scale urban road corridors development and urban sprawl in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana. International Development Planning Review, 1-24.
  7. Adjei M, Owusu V & Sheburah Essien (2023). The role of socioeconomic factors, psychological motivations, and social networks in women’s participation in community-based fishery management in Ghana. Coastal Management, 51(3), 211-230.
  8. Sheburah Essien R, Adjei M & Owusu V (2023). Towards an integrated approach to solid waste management in Ghanaian cities. Ghana Journal of Geography, 15 (2), 3360.
  9. Sheburah Essien R & Spocter M (2022). Overcoming obstacles to the integration of formal and informal actors in urban market environmental management: The case of Accra’s Madina, Kantamanto and Kaneshie markets. Urban Forum,1-19
  10. Badwi R, Ablo AD & Overå R (2017). The importance and limitations of social networks and social identities for labour market integration: The case of Ghanaian immigrants in Bergen, Norway. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift-Norwegian Journal of Geography, 1-10.

 

Blogs

  1. Issah, M. A., Owusu, G., Sheburah Essien, R. & Amedzro, K. K. (2024). Urban Infrastructure in the Ghanaian Media: The Case of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. Available at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/urban-lab/research/research-projects/making-africa-urban/publications-resources/publications/urban?fbclid=IwAR3J3WNOFYk30HF0PHP0FZrS1_8-UTz-0JVBxUzqQbWJGpqoZuJUaNwJovs [online]. 
  2. Sheburah Essien R, Owusu G & Amedzro K K (2022). Can global development finance make Accra Resilient? Available at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/urbanlab/news/2022/aug/can-global-development-finance-make-accra-resilient [Online]
  3. Badwi R (2015). Women as sustainable user managers of the environment. Available at s https://www.academia.edu/11761470/WOMEN_AS_SUSTAINABLE_USER_MANAGERS_OF_THE_ENVIRONMENT [Online].
  4. Badwi R (2015). The relationship between migration and development. Available at shorturl.at/qDOV7 [Online].