Dr Amankwaa is an Urban Geographer and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana. He has previously worked as a Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) and is a Fellow of the Bosch Pan-African College on Sustainable Cities.
His research interest spans across the fields of social, economic and development geography with specific focus on water, sanitation, and energy infrastructure; informality, mobility and livelihood; environmental management; public health; climate change and governance.
Dr Amankwaa joins Loughborough as a visiting research fellow having obtained The Building a New Generation of Academics in Africa (BANGA-AFRICA) Project award which is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY).
He is interested in promoting inclusive development and environmental sustainability, in the context of pro-poor urban governance, climate adaptation and education, and the application of transdisciplinary research methodology. Over the past eight years he has participated in international transdisciplinary research projects and undertaken national assignments, and his research works have not only shaped urban policies in Ghana but translated into interventions and practice
During his time at Loughborough , Dr Amankwaa will be working with the REFIT project team on the impact of extreme heat in Ghana. He recently presented a paper on the topic at the ECAS Conference in Cologne. The paper acknowledged how cities across sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly experiencing extreme weather events, which disproportionately affect the urban poor. Focussing on severe heat, his paper discussed the impact working in high temperatures is having on livelihoods in low-income urban communities in Ghana.
We look forward to working with Dr Amankwaa over this semester.