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Policies for Enabling Transformations

in Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

This chapter focuses on housing policies, arguing for an attitude towards development control which accepts that residents should have a high degree of control over what happens within their ... More

This chapter focuses on housing policies, arguing for an attitude towards development control which accepts that residents should have a high degree of control over what happens within their neighbourhoods. These proscriptions, sensitively developed and agreed by community leaders, should limit development only when absolutely necessary. The discussions cover public–individual partnership to encourage housing renovation; projects for transformations; physical planning policy and regulations; finance; and land and property taxes.Less

Introduction and Overview

Peter F. Dale and John D. McLaughlin

in Land Administration

1948 saw the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All governments that signed the Declaration formally recognized that human beings have a right to adequate shelter as one component of their ... More

1948 saw the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All governments that signed the Declaration formally recognized that human beings have a right to adequate shelter as one component of their right to an adequate standard of living. In 1996, at the Habitat II Conference, many countries committed themselves to ‘Promoting optimal use of productive land in urban and rural areas and protecting fragile ecosystems and environmentally vulnerable areas from the negative impacts of human settlements, inter alia, through developing and supporting the implementation of improved land management practises’ (UNCHS 1996). Access to land and security for credit are vital components of sustainable development and good land management practice; every State needs to ensure that efficient and effective land administration mechanisms are in place. Land is a physical thing that encompasses the surface of the earth and all things attached to it both above and below. It is also an abstract thing that is manifest as a set of rights to its use with a value that can be traded even though the physical object cannot be moved. The term ‘land administration’ is used here to refer to those public sector activities required to support the alienation, development, use, valuation, and transfer of land. The relationship between human beings and the land is of fundamental importance in every society and is evident in the form of property rights. This relationship has evolved in many different ways, from full state control, through communal forms of tenure, to the individual property rights. In the land reform programmes of the 1960s, especially in Africa, new land tenure arrangements such as the granting of individual freehold rights were introduced, often contrary to traditional custom and practice. In the reforms of today, especially in east and central Europe, the land restitution programmes have reprivatized land previously owned by individuals. They have also granted first-time rights of private ownership to what was formerly state-owned land, on the basis of the traditions of the past, thus reinforcing old land tenure arrangements. Less

New Directions in Land Administration

Peter F. Dale and John D. McLaughlin

in Land Administration

The role of property in fostering good governance, robust economies, and strong civil societies has received fresh attention in the wake of the dramatic global changes that have occurred during the ... More

The role of property in fostering good governance, robust economies, and strong civil societies has received fresh attention in the wake of the dramatic global changes that have occurred during the past decade. Innovative and cost effective ways to formalize property rights have emerged, linking these with new strategies and tools for building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary for sustaining a property regime. Land administration functions have been re-engineered and there have been legal reforms that have focused on modernizing, standardizing, and simplifying legislation relating to land and property. There have been new concepts of risk management, the introduction of new technologies, and a variety of organizational reforms. Many of these reforms have been the consequence of political changes, especially as a result of the collapse of communism, the adoption of a market driven approach to the economy and the impact of information technology. The processes of re-engineering have focused on a diverse package of measures dealing with land tenure security, land and property transactions, and access to credit. They have also been concerned with the provision of support for physical planning, the sustainable management and control of land use and of natural resources, and facilitating real property taxation. Internationally funded projects have also been concerned with the protection of the environment, the provision of land for all people whatever their gender but especially for the poor and ethnic minorities, and the prevention of land speculation and the avoidance of land disputes. As Burns et al. have reported: … The policy environment for land titling projects is becoming more complex, and a range of issues must now be addressed if a project is to pass through a Multilateral or Bilateral funding agency’s approval process. These include impact on gender, impact on the environment, resettlement requirements and impact on indigenous groups (Burns et al 1996)…. Gender issues, fix example, are becoming increasingly important with the international funding institutions demanding that gender equity be present both in law and in practice; this requires performance indicators to demonstrate compliance with the regulations. Less