Ways in Which Land is Used in our Community

The use of land is very important in community planning. The use of land has influence on the economy or the beauty of every community. Lands in our community are used in several ways. The location of the land sometimes influences the use of the land.

The lands in our communities are used for many things. What a particular piece of land is used for and the price it commands depends on where it is located. For instance the price of land in Spintex and Tema would be different to that same piece of land in Pokuase. Some of the uses of land are discussed below:

• Building of houses: one important use of land today is for building of homes. Once the individual eats or works there is the need to sleep or rest and land has helped in ensuring that, through buildings. Today, buildings are one major property both the youth and the old are fighting to get. On these lands; houses, stores, community centers and other government and private businesses are built.

• Farms: Lands are used for making farms. Land for making farms are mostly found on the outskirts of the community. These lands are fertile and support plant growth. Most communities depend on farming for their livelihood. The country also depends on crop production for its development. Cash crops such as cocoa are grown and exported. This earns the country money for development. Ghana exports a lot of its farm products such as cocoa, coffee, yam, pineapple etc., which are grown in the community. They are also used by the factories as raw materials

• Markets: The lands in our communities are used for markets. This is very important in every community. It is a place where people buy and sell, a place for business and also creates employment for people in the community. It eases difficulties on the people in the community because they do not travel to other communities to trade. Examples are Tema community 1 market, Kumasi central market etc..,

• Recreational fields: The lands are also used for recreational fields. These are places people go to have fun. Communities with recreational fields attract more foreigners. Examples are stadia such as Accra Sports Stadium, parks and gardens such as Kakum National Park and Aburi gardens, tourist sites such as Boti falls, Mountain Afadjato etc.

• Roads: These are constructed to ease movements of cars, human beings, loads etc. Every developed country has a good road network. Good road network in villages help to transport the farm produce to the cities. This helps promote development, the villagers who farm get money and the people in the cities also get the farm crops they want. Bad roads or communities with no roads slow development.

Building: The lands in our community are used for building. Some of the buildings found in our community are industries,business offices, buildings for settlement etc. Developed communities are planned with good layout of site for settlement.