Dr Andrews Korah, Mr Kwaku Twum, Mr Eric Anorrey
Funding period: 1 December 2026 – 31 May 2028
Type of funding:
Urban Urgencies
Award Number: USF-URU-260702
Partner organisations: Global Youth Innovation Center (Ghana), DISC, University of Oklahoma (United States), Mapkot Technologies (Ghana)
Investigators: Dr Andrews Korah, Mr Kwaku Twum, Mr Eric Anorrey
Team members: Dr Michael Osei Asibey (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Mr Desmond Lartey (Deltares/Wageningen University), Dr Gifty Attiah (Wilfrid Laurier University), Prof Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah (University at Buffalo, State University of New York), Mr Anthony Kwabena Sarfo (GIZ Ghana)
Contact: Dr Andrews Korah
Abstract:
GeoHeat-SSA: Geo-Intelligence decision-support platform for urban heat governance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) addresses the growing threat of extreme urban heat in rapidly expanding African cities. In Ghana, rising temperatures interact with dense development, vegetation loss, informal settlement growth, limited public infrastructure, and uneven access to cooling, creating serious risks for health, livelihoods, and urban liveability. However, many local authorities lack the data, technical capacity, and practical tools needed to identify heat hotspots, understand who is most vulnerable, and test effective responses.
The project will pilot a practical urban heat intelligence system in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi. It will combine satellite imagery, climate and land-use data, public health information, and community knowledge to map heat exposure and social vulnerability at neighbourhood scale. Machine-learning and geospatial methods will be used to identify the main drivers of urban heat, forecast future risk, and assess possible interventions such as urban greening, cool roofs, and blue infrastructure.
A key output will be an open-access decision-support platform designed for municipal planners and other non-specialist users. The platform will allow users to explore heat-risk patterns, compare planning scenarios, and identify priority areas for action. The project will also produce open datasets, policy briefs, academic publications, and practical guidance that can be adapted by other African cities.
The research is delivered through a partnership linking the Data Institute for Societal Challenges at the University of Oklahoma, Mapkot Technologies Ltd, the Global Youth Innovation Center, KNUST collaborators, and other urban climate and planning specialists. Municipal planners, Ghana Health Service officials, community organisations, market traders, informal settlement residents, and other affected groups will contribute through participatory workshops and field validation.
GeoHeat-SSA aims to strengthen urban climate governance by turning complex environmental data into locally relevant and usable planning intelligence. Although urban heat is the initial focus, the framework is designed to support future work on flooding, air quality, drought, and other interconnected urban climate risks across Sub-Saharan Africa.