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In sub-Saharan African cities, community-driven development has emerged as a collective response to entrenched socio-spatial inequalities and inappropriate local development planning responses to the challenges of informal settlements. Social capital is considered to stimulate such community-driven initiatives. There are also claims that social capital can impede the sustainable development of informal settlements. Yet, none of these streams pay due attention to what forms of social capital and what urban social context social capital influences community-led informal settlement improvement. This paper sought to examine the influential role of bonding and bridging social capital on community-driven development (CDD) by comparing indigenous and migrant urban informal settlements in Accra, Ghana. Drawing on a quantitative study with 300 participants in two informal settlements and using a robust multi-group analysis, the findings revealed that bonding social capital had a positive effect on CDD (β = 0.27, p = 0.05) in the indigenous informal settlement (Abese Quarter) but insignificant relationship (β = -0.33, p = 0.36) in the migrant informal settlement (Old-Tulaku). Contrarily, bridging social capital had a positive effect on the migrant (β = 0.87, p = 0.05) but not on indigenous informal settlements (β = 0.07, p = 0.09). The paper concludes that the exploitation of social capital in bottom-up informal settlement improvement is more nuanced, and context-specific applications are imperative for research and practice. For policymakers and built environment professionals, the paper suggests leveraging social capital as a means (not ends) for building formal-informal collaborations through the co-production of bottom-up initiatives for inclusive and sustainable improvements to maximize the positives and minimize the negatives. • Social capital's role in community-driven development (CDD) is inconclusive and fragmented. • We examine the influence of bonding and bridging social capital in two contrasting urban informal settlements. • Bonding social capital positively affected CDD in the indigenous informal settlement but was insignificant in the migrant one. • Bridging social capital positively influenced CDD in the migrant informal settlement but not in the indigenous one. • Formal-informal collaborations are essential to maximize the positives of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing call for heritage management to decentralise and involve stakeholders outside of the sphere of governance. This research focuses on participatory conservation of heritage resources and the value of narrative in heritage conservation and tourism development. The case study is situated in the city of Makhanda, which was established in 1812 and possesses a significant number of individual built environment heritage resources and historic streetscapes. These urban features have been identified as assets to the city by various stakeholders and institutions, but they remain under threat. Utilising semi-structured interviews with owners of historic residential properties in the city, the paper argues that homeowners are an underutilised resource in the management of the historic urban fabric. The study found that homeowners held an appreciation for and identified the value of the historic features of their properties, and it argues that this appreciation can be harnessed in heritage management. Interviews revealed, however, that homeowners faced many challenges in managing and maintaining their historic properties and received little support in this regard. Citizen participation in heritage conservation was limited and a top-down approach to heritage resource management predominated. • Local built environment heritage resources linked to the character of the city. • The conservation of these heritage resources is threatened. • Residential property owners value historic buildings, but face challenges. • Property owners are not consulted, supported or empowered. • Top-down heritage management needs to shift towards citizen participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]