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- Convenor:
-
Colin Marx
(UCL)
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- Formats:
- Roundtable
- Stream:
- Cities and social justice
- Location:
- Pentz, Room 101
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 19 June, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
In the face of partial, overlapping forms of governance that characterise African cities, urban land markets appear to be important mechanisms shaping cities as well as exacerbating and/or reducing spatial inequalities. This session addresses interactions between land markets and spatial justice.
Long Abstract:
In the face of partial and overlapping forms of governance that characterise African cities, urban land markets appear to be important socio-economic mechanisms that are shaping the physical development of cities, the development of infrastructural networks and the possibilities for addressing spatial injustices. In this session, we are particularly interested in exploring how, conceptualising the relationships between land markets and spatial justice, how land administration, planning and development has intervened to shape complex land markets, namely by focusing on attempts to deal with multiple land tenure systems, on discourses around the role of land markets in urban development and reducing inequalities, and on initiatives to promote access to land and the right to the city to the poor.
Paper topics might include:
- Theorisations of urban land markets in contexts of governance multiplicity and increasing pressure on land;
- Situated analysis of institutional arrangements and multi-levelled power relations shaping complex land markets and spatial justice in urban areas;
- Land markets and materialisations of difference/urban divisions;
- Complex land markets and urban inequality
- Empirical investigations of transactions in land in urban areas;
- Evolution of land tenure systems and spatial justice.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 19 June, 2019, -Paper short abstract:
This paper seeks to identify disparities in residential settlement patterns in Kampala and link them to household-dependent constraints in accessing land markets.
Paper long abstract:
Where you live in a city determines the access you have to its resources, since they are unequally distributed in space. Therefore, when moving to/within a city, the choice of where to settle will influence the ease of access to these resources. However, choice of location is often limited by constraints in access to land by how land markets are functioning. Apart from being time and context-specific, how people interact in these land markets is dependent on their socio-economic situation, their social capital and networks at the location, and the information they have available.
Based on survey data of 2483 households along the Hoima and Jinja corridors in Kampala Metropolitan Region, this paper will combine statistical as well as spatial analysis methods to identify disparities in residential settlement patterns according to geographical location, tenure status and residential typology. Based on these observed disparities, an analysis will be carried out to identify potential factors that contribute to a household's residential location choice. They include but are not limited to: household's socio-economic status, previous residential location, reasons for moving, time of last move, condition of the plot on moving, ease of access to the area and available information regarding procedural components in getting access to urban land. To conclude, the (in)justice of identified disparities and unequal access to land markets will be reflected on in the context of rapidly urbanizing cities on the African continent.
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines how informal land dispute resolution in a Kampala settlement influences tenure security for low-income residents. Findings highlight the advantages of informal land dispute resolution but reveal how the mechanism can influence tenure security in both positive and negative ways.
Paper long abstract:
The projected rapid population growth in African cities over the next several decades will lead to increased competition for access to urban and peri-urban land, which in turn may contribute to increased land disputes. Dispute resolution will likely be a key challenge going forward for land administration systems in African nations to prevent disputes from escalating into full-blown conflict.
In countries with multiple and overlapping forums of justice individuals can engage in "forum-shopping" among a range of formal and informal dispute resolution mechanisms in an effort to resolve land disputes. Informal dispute resolution has previously been observed to have certain advantages over more formal mechanisms, including lower cost, simplified procedures, less incidences of corruption, and a more participatory, consensual approach to justice.
Using a settlement in Kampala, Uganda as a case study, this paper examines how informal land dispute resolution influences tenure security for low-income residents.
The findings show that informal land dispute resolution indeed carries certain advantages for low-income residents. In addition, the unique dual-role played by Local Council Court 1 chairmen in both land transactions and land dispute resolution contributes to greater perceived tenure security for residents. However, the prioritization of community and family harmony by the Local Council Court 1 at times makes certain residents' tenure less secure.
This research can contribute to ongoing public dialogues among policymakers, civil society actors and others regarding how and whether informal mechanisms of dispute resolution can or should be promoted and strengthened in rapidly-urbanising cities in the Global South.