Urban land tenure issues in the South are highly complex. It is not a subject that can be defined in terms of legal or illegal, formal or informal. In fact, most people live at some point on a continuum, in which they may be the recognized owners of the land but have constructed a house in an area not zoned for residential use, or they may simply have failed to conform initially to official regulations or procedures.
In Land, Rights and Innovation Geoffrey Payne brings together 15 fascinating examples from around the world where the authorities have recognized the complexity of the...