Land reform can be divided broadly into land tenure reform (the establishment of secure and formalized property rights in land) and land redistribution (the transfer of land from large to small farmers). This paper therefore is in two parts. The first part focuses on property rights, giving a short narrative of some of the key land tenure and land policy issues. Though these issues remain politically sensitive, a solid consensus is emerging on how to deal with them--but only once the confusion is cleared up surrounding private common property and formal and informal rights. The second part...

This study outlines the difficulties poor communities face in accessing peri-urban land in South Africa that could have implications and lessons for similar communities in other countries facing spatial segregation issues. 'In Search of Land and Housing in the New South Africa' focused on one community, composed largely of laid-off farm workers that wanted to buy their own farm in a peri-urban area west of Johannesburg. Their dream was to establish a mixed-use settlement. They wanted to call the village Ethambalethu--'Our Hope.' About 250 families started their own association and savings...