Investigating the Urban Land Nexus and Inclusive Urbanisation in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, and Khartoum

Abstract

Many countries in Africa have low average incomes and high urbanisation and urban population growth rates. This combination, which has been experienced at some time in all parts of the world, can make life particularly difficult for vulnerable groups trying to make a home and a living in the city. The challenges vary enormously across the continent and are also different from what those countries with this combination of circumstances faced in the past, partly because of being set within a very different global political and economic, and natural environment, and partly because of the specificities of the region. However, as in the past, governments and other elite groups are often concerned that too many people ill-equipped to live in and contribute to their cities are moving in. Low-income residents are often pushed by markets, governments or the residents of more exclusive neighbourhoods who see them as encroachers, into overcrowded central areas, isolated locations towards the periphery, or informal and marginal spaces not yet closely controlled by private or public interests. The continuing churn of the land nexus can be particularly disruptive for residents of low socioeconomic status who are also tenants or migrants. Within vulnerable groups, women often bear a disproportionate share of the burden, particularly when they have large caring and home-maintenance roles. Agreeing on politically feasible means of ensuring that the urban land nexus accommodates these vulnerable groups equitably is central to creating more inclusive cities. The goal of this research is to stimulate informed policy debate on actionable changes that are politically feasible, economically desirable, scalable, and foster more inclusive urbanisation. For this purpose, it seeks to understand key aspects of the structure and dynamics of the land nexus of the three selected cities, how socioeconomic status is related to the experiences of land nexus processes such as densification, peri-urban development, settlement regularisation, forced displacement, gentrification, and infrastructure expansion. This is done with a view to identifying politically feasible changes that can make land nexus processes more inclusive.