Street Shaper December 12, 2018

Street Shaper – December 2018

GDCI Street Shaper of the Month 

Ayikai Poswayo

Program Director, AmendAccra, Ghana (but working across Africa)

 

Ayikai manages and directs Amend’s School Area Road Safety Assessments and Improvements (SARSAI) Program, including overseeing and training teams to improve safety for children on the roads around their schools. Her favorite part of this role is visiting schools to meet the children at risk of road traffic injury who are directly impacted by Amend’s work.

Please tell us about your work on urban streets and/or mobility.

The SARSAI program involves identifying schools where children are at high risk of road traffic injuries on their journeys to school, carrying out quantitative and qualitative assessments at the schools, coming up with infrastructure proposals to improve safety, and supervising the construction of low-cost yet life-saving measures outside the schools. Road safety lessons are then given to the children at the schools. All these activities are carried out with permission from and in collaboration with the relevant government entities, as well as other stakeholders. The program is currently being implementing across nine countries on the African continent.

What are the biggest mobility and/or road safety challenges in your city?

The lack of consideration and hence provision for vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, is a big concern. Many times, pedestrians have to compete for road space with vehicles traveling at incompatible speeds. This puts them at particularly high risk of road traffic injury and death.

What is it like to be a pedestrian in your city?

Scary! Visiting one of the schools where we were working in Ghana, I traced the journey of some children who crossed the infamous N1 Highway in Accra at grade in order to get to school. It was a terrifying experience and it made me wonder how children less than half my size and one-fourth my age manage to make that journey five times a week, without more injuries and deaths occurring than are already known.

Tell us about an innovative urban project(s) or approach(es) that has inspired your work.

One of my inspirations is the woonerf (living streets) concept from the Netherlands, which offers a safe shared space environment for various road users. My dream is to have one of these ‘shared spaces’ outside a school in an African city, where the majority of children walk or cycle.

What is the biggest challenge or most common roadblock you face in implementing innovative projects in your city?

One of our challenges is the lack of government receptivity to new approaches to tackle road safety challenges around schools.

What mobility, public space, or road safety improvements would you like to see in your city by 2030?

I would like to see roads and streets designed with considerations for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, and with special consideration given to children and persons with disabilities.

    • Road safety education in Tanzania. (Photo: Edward Echwalu)
    • Children crossing road in Zambia. (Photo: Jason Mulikita)
    • Two girls on footpath in Ghana. (Photo: Edward Echwalu)
    Fill 1 caret-right

    More Updates

    Designing Safe and Resilient Streets in Recife

    June 30, 2025

    Designing Safe and Resilient Streets in Recife

    In October 2024, the Streets for Kids project was inaugurated in the Jordão neighborhood in Recife, Brazil, a community where children faced multiple challenges accessing safe and high-quality public spaces. Heavy rains, frequent flooding, and landslide risks often made their journey to school dangerous and unpredictable. Throughout the process, children, caregivers, school staff, and residents were engaged to co-create solutions that improve access to schools, supporte outdoor play and social connection, and set a precedent for future child-focused street transformations in Recife.

    Creating Safer Spaces for Play: Tackling Air Pollution in Accra

    June 11, 2025

    Creating Safer Spaces for Play: Tackling Air Pollution in Accra

    In collaboration with the Korle Klottey Municipality and with support from the Clean Air Fund, GDCI launched the Removing Pollution from Play project in late 2023, with the aim to tackle air pollution in school environments by implementing practical solutions, raising awareness, and empowering communities to advocate for cleaner air. In March 2025, the completed intervention was inaugurated, and the new safe play space now serves over 150 students in Accra.

    The GDCI Reverse Periscope

    April 8, 2025

    The GDCI Reverse Periscope

    Since its launch in 2023, cities around the world have embraced the reverse periscope as a playful tool to reimagine streets from a child’s perspective. From community walkshops to international conferences, the tool is helping spark deeper conversations about child-friendly design. Discover how practitioners are using it to shift perspectives—and shape safer, more joyful streets for kids.