Land use development and transformation in informal settlements have been taking place because informal settlements have been alternative way of providing affordable housing to low income people. Many governments use strict regulations to deny informal settlements from infrastructure services but in Tanzania informal settlements are provided with such services. This paper presents the findings on how land use transformation is taking place and publicly used spaces disappear overtime in the informal settlements, the context behind and their outcomes.

The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges of women on land rights, in Tanzania customary practices often required woman to access land through their fathers, brothers, husbands or other men who control the land, so this makes women vulnerable and decreases agricultural productivity. When women loses their connection to this male relative, either through death, divorce or migration, they can lose their land, home and means of supporting themselves and their families.

Cameroon is currently witnessing an unprecedented wave of land-based investments, ranging from natural resources exploitation (oil, mining and gas), logging, large infrastructure building, etc. These developments happen in a context of population growth, in an increase in the domestic demand for land. There is a gap between the legislation governing expropriation and compensation in the country, and the variety of customary rules on land and resources. This context of legal pluralism results into endless conflicts opposing communities and the investors, including the State.