Access to land is crucial for food systems to address the challenges caused by habitat and biodiversity loss, land and water degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable food production requires land security upstream for agricultural production. Land security emanates from the land law implemented in-country by government policy. In the span of a decade (2007–2017), three different land reforms have been adopted in Benin.

Urban studies in Nigeria mostly focus on large cities and metropolitan areas, with minimal attention given to sustainable urban development in midsized cities. In this study, we address this knowledge gap and examine the policies and practices driving urban growth in Uyo, a midsized city in Nigeria. Specifically, we evaluate to what extent the prevailing urban governance culture and practices move the city toward or away from being inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable—central tenets of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.

Globally, nations are targeting to achieve the “Green Deal 2030” and “Biodiversity Strategy 2030” to protect and conserve forest ecosystems. Forest land rights that define the nature of forest use have been rendered useless in many developing countries. Uganda is an African country endowed with tropical rainforests. Forests and other protected areas continue to decline due to deforestation and forest degradation in Uganda. Moreover, Uganda is an example of a country with a high allocation of virgin forest land to investors for development projects including agriculture.