Location
"Urban LandMark" is short for the Urban Land Markets Programme Southern Africa. Based in Pretoria, the programme was set up in May 2006 with seven years of funding from the UK's Department for International Development until March 2013. The initiative is now hosted at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa.
Urban LandMark was designed to play a short-term, catalytic role. Between 2006 and 2013 it was financially managed by FinMark Trust. FinMark Trust is already applying the 'making markets work for the poor' thinking in financial and housing markets, which are relevant to the urban land markets question.
What we do
Urban LandMark is working to make urban land markets work for the poor by:
- Defining what 'making markets work for the poor' means for urban land and developing a distinctive voice for this approach,
- Mobilising diverse players, including the private sector and civil society, to come up with innovative ways to achieve this objective,
- Promoting policy dialogue between people , and
- Bringing about change in government policy and implementation, and in private sector praxis.
Five areas of activity
Research
Research projects cover four sectors: people, place, governance and the market, in an integrated way.
Dissemination
Research is disseminated widely to industry, government, NGOs and other interested people.
Support
Individuals affiliated with Urban LandMark are available to government and the private sector to take part in task teams.
Professional development
To ensure industry professionals incorporate MMW4P ideas in their work, we assist with the development of courses and academic exchange programmes as well as forums and seminars.
Networking and advocacy
We develop and maintain relationships with industry and government players, and build partnerships with academic institutions and organisations, local and international, working on urban land issues to share information and participate in joint activities.
Members:
Resources
Displaying 21 - 25 of 36Urban Land Markets , Economic Concepts And Tools For Engaging In Africa
This Handbook introduces key economic and related concepts explaining the functioning of urban land markets. You will find in this Handbook tools for engaging in a critical analysis of conventional economics, particularly in the understanding of how African urban land markets work. Of great importance is the understanding of how land use, supply and demand unfold in African context. It provides a basis for strengthening urban policy in ways that enable poorer people in African cities to access well-located living and work spaces.
The struggle for property ownership in New Crossroads
This document, written by Josette Cole of the Mandlovu Development Trust, explores the intended and unintended consequences of home ownership for poor citizens living in formal settlements in post-apartheid South Africa. It focuses on New Crossroads in Cape Town, a relatively small, urban community of 20 000 people.
Incrementally securing tenure
These documents summarise Urban LandMark's approach to incrementally securing tenure in informal settlements. This approach emphasises practical mechanisms that allow land rights to be upgraded over time. It has been developed from a range of activities, including input from research papers, a considerable number of interviews, and the testing of different processes with municipalities. The second report focuses on the notion of local land offices and their potential for promoting tenure security and incremental tenure processes.
Fighting for land security in Southern Africa
It has emerged quite clearly from Urban LandMark’s work in South Africa – and increasingly in the region – that the emergence of more sophisticated property markets has taken place locally and in most larger cities in the region. While there might be a need to assist these markets to develop further, in particular the need to build market institutions and professions, these groupings tend to increase their own capacities as the markets develop, mostly with little assistance.
Urban land development in practice
Developers study the property market carefully and then, based on the property cycle, and risk and profit calculations, they acquire land and develop it, with a specific product in mind. Municipalities play a governance role, and are mandated to ensure that the development is in line with government policies and development plans for the area.