Relationship between land tenure and land use in unplanned settlements in Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

How do land tenure and land use relate to informal settlements? Many studies have examined the effects of land regularisation on communities. Land regularisation is considered a highly effective solution for improving the residential environment in informal settlements and has been implemented in numerous developing countries. However, few studies have explored how land regularisation impacts land use in informal settlements. In this study, we investigated how residents secure land tenure and use their land in unplanned settlements in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, focusing on people's practices in detail. We focussed on two unplanned settlements in Lusaka: Chaisa Ward, an improvement area where land regularisation has occurred, and Chazanga Ward, a customary area where land is not being regularised. As the investigation method, we conducted interviews with community management organisations and 31 dwelling owners and an observational survey about land use in selected target sites in Chaisa and Chazanga in 2009, 2011, and 2014. The study findings showed that in informal settlements, where land tenure is secured by authorities within the community, communal regulation supported by community-based social bonds is an important element of land use management. However, official recognition of land rights through land regularisation could undermine communal relationships and communal land use regulations, resulting in a disorganised and congested living environment. Therefore, we point out that official intervention in land tenure should be institutionalised in a manner that fully understands and takes advantage of the relationships between land tenure and land use, as well as between land and people, which are well-balanced within the local context. This study demonstrated that communal regulation plays a key role in managing land use in informal settlements but its positive impact could be easily undermined by land regularisation. Thus, an important learning from this study is that land in informal settlements should be regularised in a way that fully understands and takes advantage of communal regulation of land use to ensure a desirable living environment.