The current paper derives from work conducted in the context of the Revision of the Mass Housing Development

Programme (MHDP) that the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) commissioned to the Integrated

Land Management Institute (ILMI) at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). The paper contains

only publicly-available information and was prepared for public dissemination of issues related to the work

undertaken for the Ministry in the context of this project. More information about this project can be found on

Urban and peri-urban land markets in rapidly expanding West African cities operate within and across different coexisting tenure regimes and involve complex procedures to obtain or make land available for housing. Because a structured framework lacks for the analysis of such systems, this book proposes a systemic approach and applies it to Bamako and its surrounding areas.

This publication provides practical and evidence-based guidance on how to improve women’s access to land as an essential element to achieve social and economic development and enjoyment of human rights, peace and stability in the specific context of the Muslim world. The challenges faced by women living in Muslim contexts do not substantially differ from those faced by women in other parts of the world: socially prescribed gender roles, unequal power dynamics, discriminatory family practices, unequal access to justice are the most common.

Four years ago, I was part of a research team looking at access to land and basic services in informal settlements.

We conducted field interviews in Mukuru slums in Eastlands. We were amazed at the levels of development in the area. People were constructing permanent structures despite the fact that they were under the impression that informal settlements are characterised by temporary structures.

Four years later, there are ongoing discussions to address the plight of informal settlements. A fundamental starting point is to address issues of tenure security.

This Country Profile (CP) of the Republic of Armenia is the nineteenth in the series and the second review done for the country. The first was prepared in 2004 and the analyses covered only the housing sector. This CP is an in-depth analyses of the housing, urban development and land management sectors of the Republic of Armenia. It provides policy recommendations on these sectors, while focusing on specific challenges and achievements.

After natural disasters, governments often relocate vulnerable urban communities in the name of humanitarian relief. But urban communities rarely welcome such relocation, since it frequently exacerbates their daily challenges or creates new risks. Indeed, resettlement after a disaster is often another form of eviction. This briefing discusses the situation in Chennai, where state and local authorities have been building resettlement tenements on inland marsh areas using centrally sponsored schemes for affordable housing.

As we turn the page on MDGs to SDGs, the unprecedented proliferation of slums and informal settlements, and a chronic lack of adequate housing, continues to be amongst the major challenges of urbanization. Slums, informal settlements and inadequate housing remain the visible manifestations of poverty and inequality in cities. Inadequate housing complements the measurement of slums, particularly in the developed world, in order not to leave anyone behind.

This is a policy brief that is derived from a study to understand the dynamics and trends that inform the availability of housing demand and supply in Kenya. It finds that Kenya’s formal housing policy has a strong supply focus that shortchanges rural dwellers whose main challenge to adequate and good housing is based on demand constraints.

The Constitution of Kenya provides that every citizen has the right to property. The provision ensures that an individual or group of people that acquire land have the protection to own this property if acquired lawfully. Individuals living in informal settlements then have a right to have property when acquired through proper means. Even though there are processes in progress to address the issue of securing tenure rights in informal settlements by the government.

The world is increasingly encroaching on indigenous peoples’ traditional lands. Around the globe, indigenous communities are forced to cede ground to state development, corporate land grabs, rising sea levels, environmental degradation, and population growth. The right to land provides the basis for access to food, housing, and development. But for indigenous peoples, traditional lands are more than this; they represent essential ties to their ancestors, their culture, and their languages. Losing their land means losing their way of life.

This paper has been compiled by Ndifuna Ukwazi following extensive consultation with practitioners and experts in housing finance, architecture, social housing, city planning, urban design, and local and provincial government.