The abovementioned paper by Urban LandMark's Caroline Wanjiku-Kihato and Lauren Royston was presented at the annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty in April 2012. The paper proposes innovative ways of working with existing local practices to build land security from the ground up, which are distinct from the more conventional policy of introducing large-scale titling
schemes into urban slums.

Urban LandMark has developed a booklet that focuses on the creation, measurement and capture of value from transport interchanges. It also looks into the opportunities/obstacles to municipalities' use of value capture instruments. And it investigates the economics of value creation and value capture to identify the possibility of 'getting ahead of the curve' in securing these sites for more socially orientated development. Read more.

News, views and experiences on securing rights to rangelands from East Africa and beyond.

The findings of this study by Urban LandMark,Universidade Eduardo Modlane and Universidade Pedagógica tell an important story of the significance of local land practices in creating opportunities for urban dwellers to secure land rights in the absence of an accessible and affordable formal system. And the findings not only shed light on our understanding of how urban territory is carved up and managed; they underscore the ways in which we conceptualise African cities, with implications for both urban theory and practice.

Urban land markets have a profound effect on how well poor households are able to access the jobs, amenities and services offered in the city. But often the way in which this market works frustrate attempts to open up better located living and business opportunities for poorer urban households and communities, despite government policies and programmes intended to address these challenges. The challenge in South Africa is even larger because of worsening poverty and inequality, and the continuing growth of cities through urbanisation.

'Transforming Cities with Transit' explores the complex process of transit and land-use integration in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. As one of the most promising strategies for advancing environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, and socially inclusive development in fast-growing cities, transit and land-use integration is increasingly being embraced by policy-makers at all levels of government. This book focuses on identifying barriers to and opportunities for effective coordination of transport infrastructure and urban development.

[via UNDP, 2008] These 4 Policy Briefs from UNDP show how increasing knowledge about gender relations and empowerment has highlighted the importance of access to and control over land within intra-household gender relations, and what this implies for broader concerns about empowerment of the poor.  Moreover, significant knowledge gaps are also found in discussions on the link between land policies and cultural, territorial and gender empowerment issues.

The Cities Alliance-funded Tenure Security Facility Southern Africa 2012 programme aims to provide specialist tenure technical assistance and advisory services to slum upgrading initiatives in the region. The work also aims to contribute to improved access to land for poorer people, which in turn contributes to improved livelihoods, active citizenship and wealth creation. Read more

The conversion of land from agricultural production to urban and industrial development is one of the critical processes of change in developing economies undergoing industrialization, urbanization, and globalization. Urban land use changes taking place in China have attracted much scholarly attention, especially in light of the extensive economic reforms, remarkable economic growth, and profound structural changes over the last three decades.

This paper by Rexford Assasie Oppong of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Andre Brown of the University of Liverpool used the case of Kumasi (Ghana) to highlight the role of individuals and private equity as a source of financing for
aspects of urban regeneration in Ghana.
Read more at http://afresnet.net/downloads/Journal%20of%20African%20Real%20Estate%20R...