Access to socioeconomic opportunities is crucial to achieving sustainable and equitable transport in cities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where the challenges are more heightened for Informal Urban Communities (IUCs). In SSA cities, IUCs constitute a significant portion, about 72% of the urban landscape.  IUCs are typically associated with lower-quality mobility infrastructure, low-income populations, and low car ownership. IUCs in SSA are associated with negative perceptions and are understudied for their potential positive lessons which can be scaled to improve equitable access to activities. Accordingly, this study examines some core characteristics of IUCs which can promote transit-oriented development. This is achieved by investigating whether IUCs in SSA satisfy the compact city criterion of residents reaching basic socio-economic activities within 15-minutes by non-motorized transport. Using selected IUCs in Kumasi, Ghana the study employs geospatial techniques to examine local residents’ potential and actual access to selected socioeconomic activities: workplace, healthcare, education, shopping (market), place of worship, and family visit. Actual access to activities was obtained using user-reported travel time to reach the selected activities. Potential access was measured based on the travel time spent on a road network from origin to destination using a vehicle under typical traffic conditions or walking. The resulting access estimates were evaluated based on a 15-minute threshold to determine the extent to which residents were able to reach the selected socio-economic activities. The access estimates were further spatially differentiated by urban form to establish their inter-relationships.