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The title of Ato Quayson’s recent book Oxford Street, Accra is somewhat misleading; while the development of Oxford Street as a vibrant business district and cosmopolitan center certainly foregrounds the author’s analysis, his geographical scope is actually much wider.

The title of Ato Quayson’s recent book Oxford Street, Accra is somewhat misleading; while the development of Oxford Street as a vibrant business district and cosmopolitan center certainly foregrounds the author’s analysis, his geographical scope is actually much wider. Quayson delineates the developmental trajectory of several enclaves and neighborhoods across the city and, in doing so, highlights overlapping processes of urban planning and demographic change, which transformed Accra from a ury settlement of mainly Gas-Adangme peoples into a vibrant global metropolis.

He traces the city's evolution from its settlement in the mid-seventeenth century to the present day. He combines his impressions of the sights, sounds, interactions, and distribution of space with broader dynamics, including the histories of colonial and postcolonial town planning and the marks of transnationalism evident in Accra's salsa scene, gym culture, and commercial billboards.

A richly layered, dense and fascinating book on Accra and the myth and realities of contemporary urban life in sprawling mega-cities

A richly layered, dense and fascinating book on Accra and the myth and realities of contemporary urban life in sprawling mega-cities. Quayson deftly ranges over a range of topics, from Accra's multicultural history (strongly influenced by the Atlantic slave trade) to what modern Accra's salsa dancing and 'gymming' subcultures have to say about the city and the trajectories of city dwellers' lives in different socio-economic strata.

Quayson breaks the book into two parts

Quayson breaks the book into two parts. The first deals with the history of the Ga people and the impact of colonialism and its planning on Accra Central.

His book Oxford Street, Accra: City Life and the Itineraries of Transnationalism was co-winner of the Urban . Aesthetic Nervousness: Disability and the Crisis of Representation, Columbia University Press, 2007.

His book Oxford Street, Accra: City Life and the Itineraries of Transnationalism was co-winner of the Urban History Association's top award in the international category for books published in 2013–14. Selected publications. Focusing primarily on the work of Samuel Beckett, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, and J. M. Coetzee, the book launches a thoroughly cross-cultural and interdisciplinary study of the representation of physical disability.

In this significant work, Oxford Street, an unofficial term of reference, becomes a microcosm of the urban Accra macrocosm; a phenomenon decidedly remarkable for the less than two mile portion of the longer Cantonments Road. Making it all come together beautifully is Quayson's telling descriptive advantage and sense of humor. In the process, the author authoritatively proffers a convincing theoretical framework, amidst an ample touch of literary discourse, for the Accra urban narrative.

As an urbanist working from a social science epistemology, I looked forward to reading this often-ignored interpretation of the African city, especially because I listened to an earlier presentation of the core of this book by Quayson at the British Council Hall in Accra in early 2008. Quayson breaks the book into two parts. The first deals with the history o. ONTINUE READING.

Oxford Street, Accra : city life and the itineraries of transnationalism, Ato Quayson. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8223-5733-9 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-8223-5747-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Oxford Street (Accra, Ghana) 2. Accra (Ghana)-History. a 3 q 39 2014 96. -dc23 2014000767 Cover art: Thomas Cockrem, Alamy.

Quayson, Ato. Oxford Street, Accra: City Life and the Itineraries of Transnationalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014.