Land
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The challenges of land and inclusion for the New Urban Agenda
For the critical issues of urban planning, land markets and public space, the Habitat III process must recognize the importance of participation by all.
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Land in Accra: a clash between tradition and the modern city
Jane Lumumba explores how Ghana’s customary land tenure system negatively impacts urban development.
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Weekly news roundup: February 6, 2015
Lagos evacuates 260 beggars in 100 days In spite of Lagos state Government’s effort to end street begging, more beggars still troop into the state daily. This compelled the government to intensify its raid, leading to the evacuation of 260 beggars from the streets in the last 100 days. – Vanguard In Johannesburg, a new bridge … Continued
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New African urbanisms: a view from Luanda
Twenty years ago, Western scholars declared African cities to be in crisis. [1] Years of rapid unplanned urban growth under conditions of economic crisis had taken their toll and observers warned that without ‘good governance’ these cities would be lost beyond repair. Post-war urban development in Luanda as described by the South African anthropologist Claudia … Continued
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Zango: plans unravel
Since 2001, Angola has engaged in large-scale rehousing efforts across Luanda. As the redevelopment of the capital proceeds, more and more residents who have built in “high-risk” areas – alongside roads that need to be widened or on areas demarcated for new projects – have been moved to various “social housing” areas: Panguila, Sapú, Projecto … Continued
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Concrete politics
Luanda, Angola’s capital, could easily be mistaken for an enormous construction site. Since the end of the civil war (1975 to 2002), the city’s oil-fuelled building boom has attracted investors from all parts of the world. As an everyday experience the result is dust, traffic, and uncertainty. Many reports marvel at the high-rises and mass … Continued
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Cape Town eco-estates protect rich from reality of townships
A stone’s throw from the working-class township of Masiphumelele, the Noordhoek mountains are being transformed into exclusive “eco-estates” which preserve apartheid geography just as the Group Areas Act did, write Bruce Baigrie and Henrik Ernstson.
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Affordable housing and the case for publicly-driven housing in African cities
Public sector provision of housing will not meet affordable housing needs by itself. But neglecting it in favour of solely an enabling approach is also a mistake, writes Hugo Halimi.
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African Cities Reader 3: Land, Property & Value
The third installment of the African Cities Reader explores the unholy trinity of land, property and value – the life force of cities everywhere.
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Grootboom Dialogues put focus on urban land justice
The 7th Annual Irene Grootboom Memorial Dialogues were held last week. Organised by the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) and the African Centre for Cities (ACC), the four public lectures brought community leaders, civil society and academics in conversation around the issue of urban land justice.
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The urban land question: Cape Town’s stalemate
A reflection on ‘The Urban Land Question,’ published in The People’s Law Journal, Issue 2 – a call for radical policy and action towards enabling equitable spatial integration?
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Cities in perspective – the Global Urban Lectures series
As urbanafrica announced recently UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Lectures series is available online. Here’s a list of some of the best talks. 1. In Making Room for a Planet of Cities professor Shlomo (Solly) Angel, based at NYU, introduces a new paradigm for ‘making room.’ He highlights the need to plan the growth of urban territories … Continued
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Africa’s great urban migration
(Republished from UCT’s Monday Monthly). Africa is urbanising rapidly. The ongoing human migration – of people pulling up roots in rural areas and resettling in cities – that happened in the Global North over a period of 200 years, is happening in the Global South (including Africa) in less than half the time. This rapid … Continued
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Mombasa – a city under the sea?
Mombasa is known as a city of sun-kissed beaches, luxurious hotels packed with tourists and crazy New Year’s Eve parties. Recent terrorist threats have begun to change this idyllic picture. Last weekend some tour operators had to evacuate hundreds of tourists and cancel flights to Mombasa. But the government has other things to worry about. … Continued
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(Call for papers) Interrogating land value capture in the African peri-urban interface: Towards a new political economy?
Panel seeks to shed light on the socio-economic underpinnings of the making of the African ‘urban’. It welcomes papers that adopt a comparative or single case-study research approach.
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Advanced training in land management
SIDA invites applications for the Advanced International Training Programme (ITP) on Applied Land Governance.
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Two land-related positions at GLTN: programme management officers
The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), based at UN-Habitat, has two positions open linked to its work on securing land and natural resources tenure.
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Jobs: Namibia University of Science and Technology
Academic posts available at Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in the Faculty of National Resources and Spatial Sciences.
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Scholarships: Namibia University of Science & Technology
Study at Namibia University of Science & Technology’s Department of Land and Property Science with graduate level scholarships available from DAAD.
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Consultancy Opportunity: Piloting Capacity Assessment Tool in Uganda
Consultancy position available with the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) Unit through UN-Habitat.
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Consultancy: Land Expert for UN-Habitat’s GLTN Mid-Term Review
UN-Habitat’s Global Land Tool Network is recruiting a review team composed of a lead evaluation consultant and a land expert. Deadline is August 31.
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Call for Papers: Geography Student Conference 2015
This year’s Annual Geography Student Conference with the theme of “Geography in a Changing World” is being hosted by the University of South Africa.
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Conference: Celebrating a Century of Geography in South Africa
The Society of South African Geographers conference will celebrate a century of geography in South Africa.
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Call for papers: Rural-Urban Connections in Sub-Saharan Africa
This conference addresses the dynamic relationships between rural and urban transformations in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Urbanisation in Ghana: Residential land use under siege in Kumasi central
Paper provides analysis of urbanisation in the Ghanaian city of Kumasi in relation to its impacts on commercialization of residential land.
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How important is green infrastructure in small and medium-sized towns? Lessons from South Africa
Paper examines the location of green infrastructure across nine towns, showing that it is unequal between suburbs and that the bulk is located under private tenure (74%) rather than in public spaces. The results show significant use of green infrastructure for a range of provisioning and cultural services as well as its contribution to spiritual and mental well-being.
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Land governance and decentralised physical planning in mid-sized cities in Ghana
Paper examines the extent to which the decentralized planning system of Ghana is capable of addressing the challenges facing mid-sized cities.
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AURI policy brief: accessing land, accessing a future
With land increasingly viewed as a commodity rather than a public good, a shift in thinking is needed to ensure that land is treated as a human right. AURI policy brief.
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A better zoning system for South Africa?
This paper considers the role of land use management within SPLUMA and the criteria for an appropriate system in circumstances of weak municipal government capacity.
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Governing beyond cities: the urban-rural interface
Chapter extract from the Geographies of Urban Governance which reviews the literature on urban-rural interfaces and linkages and discusses suggestions for dealing with them.
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Urbanisation and Urban Expansion in Nigeria
Report analyses urbanisation and urban expansion in Nigeria, portraying the dynamics and drivers of urban population growth and the spatial expansion process.
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Collective or individual titles? Conflict over tenure regularisation in a Kenyan informal settlement
Providing formal titles to residents in densely populated informal settlements without fueling conflict or encouraging gentrification presents several challenges.
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Perceptions of urban land use and degradation of water bodies in Kumasi, Ghana
This paper looks at the perception and knowledge of urban communities around the degradation of water quality tied to informal land use.
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Urban Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan African Cities
A new report from the ACC explores the extent to which cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are harnessing urban land values to finance city infrastructure.