Today, about 1 billion people are estimated to live in ‘slums’ worldwide. This number will only grow and urban poverty worsen unless radical measures are taken. While it is generally acknowledged... Show moreToday, about 1 billion people are estimated to live in ‘slums’ worldwide. This number will only grow and urban poverty worsen unless radical measures are taken. While it is generally acknowledged in the international development debate that breaking the circle of poverty requires multiple strategies, there is renewed attention for approaches that centre on the issue of tenure security. This means landholders are protected against involuntary removal from the land on which they reside, unless through due process of law and payment of proper compensation. The prevailing approach to the provision of tenure security is land registration. And while the land registration approach currently dominates policy, there has been little research into the effects of registration, particularly in urban areas. What research has been conducted, contests the benefits of this approach. As a result, we witness increasing interest in alternative approaches which generally combine protective administrative or legal measures against eviction with the provision of basic services and credit facilities. The author describes and analyses the extent to which formal, semiformal, and informal tenure arrangements that can be found in kampongs (typical low-income settlements) in Indonesia provide tenure security to the country’s urban poor, particularly since 1998, when Indonesia embarked on an ambitious political and legal reform programme. The author reviews the current legal framework that applies to urban land tenure in Indonesia. In addition, based on rich material that was acquired through empirical research in the city of Bandung, there are a number of case studies presented in which the urban poor’s tenure security was put to the test. Finally, drawing on statistical data, the author analyses the urban poor’s perceptions regarding their tenure security and whether and, if so, how this influences their housing investment behaviour. Following this analysis, the author evaluates the socio-economic benefits of current approaches to attaining tenure security. And with these findings, there are policy suggestions and contributions to theory formation presented to further the current international development debate on tenure security. Show less
The central themes of this book are customary law, traditional leadership and local land management. International policy is currently witnessing a renewed interest in customary tenure systems and... Show moreThe central themes of this book are customary law, traditional leadership and local land management. International policy is currently witnessing a renewed interest in customary tenure systems and traditional leadership, through which it aims to enhance the efficiency of local governance, and create general access to and secure rights in land. Contrary to these ideas, practice reveals a lack of security of customary tenure in many areas. Mounting evidence displays that customary systems often evolve inequitably and that traditional elites benefit disproportionally from commodification of land. In an effort to understand customary land management by traditional authorities, and the role policymakers, lawmakers, judges and civil servants play in this process, this book studies practices of land management in peri-urban Kumasi. It combines local case studies with theories about efficient land management, the resilience of traditional leadership, the negotiability of customary law and the gap between judges’ customary law and local practices. Doing so, it offers a unique body of empirical and theoretical knowledge for those interested in customary land management, as well as those interested in how customary law functions both at the local level and at the level of the state, in interaction with judges, lawmakers, policymakers, and civil servants. Show less
International policy is currently witnessing a renewed interest in customary tenure systems as well as traditional leadership, through which it aims to enhance the efficiency of local governance... Show moreInternational policy is currently witnessing a renewed interest in customary tenure systems as well as traditional leadership, through which it aims to enhance the efficiency of local governance and create general access to and secure rights in land. Contrary to these ideas, practice reveals a lack of security of customary tenure in areas with a high competition for land. Mounting evidence displays that customary systems often evolve inequitably and that traditional elites benefit disproportionally from commodification of land. In an effort to understand customary land management by traditional authorities and the role policymakers, lawmakers, judges and civil servants play in this process, this book studies practices of land management in peri-urban Ghana where traditional leadership forms a vibrant part of social life. This book combines local case studies with theories about efficient land management, the resilience of traditional leadership, the negotiability of customary law and the gap between judges' customary law and local practices. Doing so, it offers a unique body of empirical and theoretical knowledge for those interested in customary land management, as well as those interested in how customary law functions both at the local level and at the level of the state Show less
