North African cities have been undergoing major transformation over the past two decades following protracted instability civic uprising and conflicts changing their perception from havens to territories of displacements with social psychological and physical problems Historic public spaces in those cities in particular form a critical part of urban environments as they have the identity livelihoods and crosscommunity engagement in a healthy and fulfilling urban fabric and culture Whilst there have been several studies on the characteristics of open spaces in urban environments there is ver

Global concerns about fossil fuel prices and climate change have directed focus on prospects of biofuels. In Ghana, large-scale biofuel development has been entangled with several problems including disputes over land use and a combination of challenges such as low yield performance of Jatropha, food versus oilseed prices and financial viability issues. Furthermore, the exercised land acquisition processes lacked transparency and could not protect the rights of vulnerable local people. One particular challenge is the withdrawal of companies without returning the land to the land owners.

There is a growing recognition that Community Development Agreements (CDA) - if effectively implemented - can promote long-term development benefits for communities affected by mining operations as well as improve relations between extractive companies and communities. Section 139 (1) of Sierra Leone’s Mines and Minerals Act, 2009 provides that small scale or large scale mining licence holders are required to have and implement a CDA with primary host communities if their approved mining operations will or does exceed certain stipulated limits set out in the Act.