This article brings together the concepts of land and landscape, tightly linked in urban transformative situations, but rarely used for the purpose to strengthen strategic planning for sustainability. They are investigated as a combined base for land use deliberations, in early phases of planning processes, in practices of different scale, especially in a European context, drawing on planning and landscape policies generally agreed upon, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

After eight years of civil war, parts of Syria are now free from conflict. In recognition of the return to peace, the government officially welcomes back all who fled the country to escape violence. Yet, a pattern of property expropriation supported by the government during the war limits the ability of some to return and reclaim their homes and businesses.

Presumption of a direct causal link between formalisation of property rights
and economic productivity is back on the international development agenda.
Belief in such a direct causal relationship had been abandoned in the early
1990s, following four decades of land tenure reform experiments that failed to
produce the anticipated efficiency results. The work of Hernando de Soto has
provided the springboard for this revival. De Soto argues that formal property
rights hold the key to poverty reduction by unlocking the capital potential of

The relationship between land ownership and the sustainable use of natural resources is examined within the context of constitutional change in Africa. Using Kenya as an example, it is demonstrated that current constitutional arrangements put excessive emphasis on the protection of private property rights without requiring the corresponding duty of ecological stewardship. This has resulted in the failure of government policies and development practices to fully integrate environmental considerations into growth strategies.

This study exemplifies the relationship, commonly found in developing countries, between the domain of public law and the sphere of property law. More particularly, the study examines the place of aliens in Kenya with respect to property rights, notably rights to land. The Kenyan Constitution expressly deals with the question of discriminatory laws. Section 82(4)(a) allows the making of laws that discriminate between citizens and noncitizens. This gives validity to the various statutory provisions that restrict the acquisition of property by aliens.

Presumption of a direct causal link between formalisation of property rights
and economic productivity is back on the international development agenda.
Belief in such a direct causal relationship had been abandoned in the early
1990s, following four decades of land tenure reform experiments that failed to
produce the anticipated efficiency results. The work of Hernando de Soto has
provided the springboard for this revival. De Soto argues that formal property
rights hold the key to poverty reduction by unlocking the capital potential of

Rhe North-East Land Conference, organized by the Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU), Shillong, North-Eastern Region Community Resource Management Programme (NERCORMP), Shillong; North East Network (NEN), NRMC-Centre for Land Governance (NRMC-CLG); and Rongmei Naga Baptist Convention (RNBA), Manipur evident the significance tenure dynamics and development paradigms in North East Region deliberating on land, laws, locals and livelihoods on 30-31st January, 2020 at Shillong. 

The National Land Policy in Kenya: Critical Public Land Issues and Policy Statements is a guide to steer the debate and eventual formulation of a National Land Policy and legislative framework that will address issues of management and administration of public land in Kenya.