Tenure Insecurity Research Articles

Tenure security, housing quality and energy (in)justice in Dhaka’s slums

This article reports on a causal link from urban poverty, through tenure insecurity and poor-quality housing, to energy injustices for slum dwellers. Impacts of those injustices on residents’ well-being are identified. The prevalent physical manifestation of rapid urbanisation and urban poverty in the Global South is the incidence of slums. This article engages with the academic debate on ‘energy justice’, a relatively nascent field. This article takes a more fine-grained view of energy justice than most previous scholarship, examining the energy experience at a household scale in a specific setting of urban poverty. The contention of this article is that energy injustices prevail in informal settlements not only due to issues of governance and poverty, but also, to a significant degree, as a result of the urban poor being deprived of secure tenure and decent housing. Further, these injustices impact on people’s well-being. The latter point is explored though a capability analysis in a case-study slum in Dhaka. The case-study slum, Kallyanpur Pora Bostee, is a squatter settlement on government land in Dhaka.

Work Faster, Harder, Cheaper? Global, Local and Sectoral Co-Configurations of Job Insecurities Among Hong Kong Creative Workers

This research challenges the growing theoretical Global North–South divide and refines an ‘ex-centric’ theorisation of creative labour in the context of the increasingly monopolising but competitive capitalism in Asia. While it argues that job insecurity is not just a universal, objective condition, but varying, subjective experiences of anxiety and dissatisfaction for creative workers, we adopt a pluralist epistemological approach and identify the nuanced intersections among key global, local, and sectoral trends – increased use of digital technology, an Indigenous and outdated work ethic, and a devaluation of creativity both in industry and society – that co-configure Hong Kong creative workers’ divergent perceptions of and responses to job insecurities. Rather than merely focusing on job tenure insecurity and employment insecurity, we classify and highlight the conceptual distinctions among eight types of job insecurity for Hong Kong creative workers, some of which enable creative worker-actor’s response, resilience, and resistance to the exploitative creative labour process.

Tenure Insecurity in Informal Land Delivery System of Lagos State, Nigeria: Causes and Manifestations

Tenure Insecurity in Informal Land Delivery System of Lagos State, Nigeria: Causes and Manifestations

Forced housing mobility and mental wellbeing: evidence from Australia

This article examines the links between forced housing mobility and the mental wellbeing of Australians in an era of heightened risks in both labour and housing markets. Specifically, we examine how the links between forced housing mobility and mental wellbeing may vary according to states of employment and housing tenure insecurity. Using the 2001–2018 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, we implement hybrid models across four mental wellbeing dimensions and uncover three key findings. First, there is strong evidence that forced moves impair mental wellbeing. Second, the adverse wellbeing impacts of forced moves are greater for those experiencing employment insecurity than those in secure employment. Third, forced moves can depress the wellbeing of both owner purchasers and private renters, but the wellbeing penalty is greater in the case of the former. Overall, our analysis emphasises the importance of harnessing housing as a policy instrument for promoting wellbeing. Our findings also highlight the need for policies that mitigate loss of home ownership and reforms that improve tenure security for renters.

Food insecurity, home ownership and income-related equity in dental care use and access: the case of Canada

BackgroundIt has been documented that income is a strong determinant of dental care use in Canada, mostly due to the lack of public coverage for dental care. We assess the contributions of food insecurity and home ownership to income-related equity in dental care use and access. We add to the literature by adding these two variables among other socio-economic determinants of equity in dental care use and access to dental care. Evidence on equity in access to and use of dental care in Canada can inform policymaking.MethodsWe estimate income-related horizontal inequity indexes for the probability of 1) receiving at least one dental visit in the last 12 months; and 2) lack of dental visits during the 3 years before the interview. We conduct the analyses using data from the 2013–2014 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) at the national and regional level.ResultsThere is pro-rich inequity in the probability of visiting a dentist or an orthodontist and in access to dental care in Ontario. Inequities vary across jurisdictions. Housing tenure and food insecurity contribute importantly to both use of and access to dental care, adding information not captured by standard socio-economic determinants.ConclusionsRedistributing income may not be enough to reduce inequities. Careful monitoring of equity in dental care is needed together with interventions targeting fragile groups not only in terms of income but also in improving house and food security.

Integrating Urban Land Tenure Security in Health Determinants: The Design of Indicators for Measuring Land Tenure Security and Health Relationships in Developing Country Contexts.

Both urban land tenure insecurity and poor urban health outcomes are research topics of urban geographers and health experts. However, health outcomes or patterns are hardly measured in relation to land tenure security. There are no clear measures or indicators of if and how these two issues interrelate and which type of land tenure deficiency is likely to lead to which kind of health outcomes or patterns. To address this knowledge quandary, we reviewed literature to identify which characteristics of land tenure could relate to which types of health outcomes. The review found four specific land tenure security pathways which significantly influence health outcomes. For each of these, it is possible to identify a set of indicators which could measure the extent of interrelation between land tenure security and health. The result of this process is the design of a list of 46 land tenure-enabled indicators that can be applied empirically. The indicators demonstrate how to design a transdisciplinary approach that connects land management and global urban health knowledge spaces.

Reproducing the Plot: Making Life in the Shadow of Premature Death

AbstractA protracted process of policy development has been underway in Jamaica to curtail the widespread incidence of informal settlements. Against the logic of emerging policy, this article aims to reconnect present‐time unauthorised use of space to ancestral refusals of plantation land monopoly. Through ethnographic research and a reconsideration of historical texts, the article situates insecure tenure in a long history of conflict over land and livelihood—conflict that produces a boundary around the authorised use of space. That boundary is porous and mobile, the outcome of a palimpsest of colonial violence and its negation. This argument interrogates the gap between “landless” and “ownershipless”, revealing both the role of incomplete dispossession in racialised social reproduction and the spatial practices through which Jamaicans “make life” even in the shadow of premature death.

Understanding the mental health effects of instability in the private rental sector: A longitudinal analysis of a national cohort

Using a population-based longitudinal dataset in Australia over nearly 20 years, this study examines the impact of tenure instability on mental health and psychological distress among a low-income working-age population. The analysis compares private renters (who are notable for their relative tenure insecurity in the Australian context) and homeowners with similar sociodemographic characteristics. To enhance group comparability and address the presence of time-varying covariates that confound and mediate the relationship between tenure exposure and mental health, marginal structural models were used applying weights estimated cumulatively over time. The results show that while private rental tenants report worse mental health than homeowners initially (mental health difference: Beta = −5.29, 95%CI −7.61 to −2.97; psychological distress difference: Beta = 1.77, 95%CI 0.55 to 2.99), this difference diminishes to become statistically indistinguishable by 5–6 years of occupancy (mental health difference at year 6: Beta = −2.09, 95%CI −4.31 to 0.13, predicted mental health increases: from 65.06 to 69.83 for private renters and from 70.46 to 72.02 for homeowners; psychological distress difference at year 5: Beta = 0.81, 95%CI −0.09 to 1.71, predicted psychological distress decreases: from 19.85 to 18.04 for private renters and from 17.95 to 17.10 for homeowners). Residential stability is particularly beneficial for private renters in early middle adulthood (35–44 years), with each additional year of stable occupancy for private renters correlated with a 0.99 (95%CI 0.46 to 1.53) increase in mental health and a −0.47 (95%CI −0.69 to −0.24) decrease in psychological distress. The findings provide evidence that stable and secure rental tenure is protective of mental health, and the mental health of stable renters becomes comparable to that of homeowners over time. This adds support for housing policies that promote and improve the stability and security of rental tenure.

Mapping of Indices of Slum and Informal Housing Development in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

Slums and informal housing developments in Akure are growing at an unprecedented rate. It is on this basis that this work sets out to map out the indices of slum and informal housing development in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. High-resolution satellite data, as well as primary and secondary data, were used in the study. Based on collected data, ArcGIS 10.3.1 software was used to prepare a base map showing the existing land use, built up area in 1986, 2002, and 2018, and indices of slums, or informal housing in Akure. The indices were rated on a scale of 1–5 and the results obtained revealed that socio-economic indices [housing shortage, lack of affordable housing, high incidences of urban poverty, high incidences of rural or urban–urban migration and unemployment], institutional indices [poor enforcement of planning laws, unclear regulation and long procedures for building plan approvals, and lack of planning/development plans], political indices [inadequate provision of sites and services, tenure insecurity and eviction, and poor resettlement programme by the government] and environmental indices [high density of development and overcrowding, inadequate neighbourhood facilities and services, and inadequate sanitation] are most significant in the core and peripheral areas of Akure. The study recommends slum upgrading programmes oriented to the betterment of the current conditions of slum households and neighbourhoods and formal housing aimed at securing access to adequate housing for all, in particular the most vulnerable, promoting affordable and safe solutions and inclusive housing finance systems.

Urban Land and Development Management in a Challenged Developing World: An Overview of New Reflections

The urban development and management challenges of the developing world are well documented in the literature. However, the global built environment landscape is undergoing rapid changes. These changes are steeped in three fundamental imperatives, which have serious implications for the developing world. These imperatives are population growth and rising urbanisation; environmental challenges, particularly climate change and the quest to embrace sustainability as a panacea; and advances in technological development. This paper discusses these three imperatives with the view to teasing out their implications for urban development and management in the developing world. Consistent with the literature, the paper establishes that most of the population growth and rising urbanisation are occurring in the developing world, particularly Africa and Asia, and although these phenomena have the tendency to increase economic density and promote both private and public investment in urban development, especially construction/housing and related infrastructure activities, there are and will be several problems with them. These include land tenure insecurity, lack of access to decent affordable housing and the threat of destruction to heritage sites. Furthermore, environmental challenges such as poor waste management, and climate change are and will remain pressing issues requiring the adoption of sustainability credentials because of legislative requirements, moral suasion, and value addition. Despite the potential disruptive nature of technology with respect to some aspects of the built environment, it is recognised that advances in technology are essential to the achievement of optimal urban development and management outcomes in the developing world. The paper, therefore, recommends better understanding of the socio-economic, cultural, and political forces underlying urban growth in the developing world, factoring in technology and sustainability in urban development and management, and collaboration among relevant actors, particularly government and the private sector, for optimal outcomes.

“They’re plotting against us”: Public narratives utilised by Kenyan Community-Based Organisations advocating for land rights

The narratives of Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) are significant for linguistic analysis as they provide natural data in highly emotional public discourses. In Kenya, any topic or discourse on land injustice is a highly emotive venture. In the same vein, public narratives are relevant to provide evidence for evaluations of language choice, power, and authority, as well as the linguistic communication of emotion. In this respect, emotion-provoking narratives are highly important phenomena that are hardly ever absent in the public discourse of CBOs advocating for land rights. Within the framing rhetoric of social movements, we explore how these groups frame land injustices within emotion-provoking narratives in public discourse. The methodology in this study involved audio-recorded data collected from two CBOs that represent land injustices due to government and/or company-propelled projects in Kenya: Tugen Hills Forests Right Holders and Kerio Valley Professionals Association based in Kabarnet town in Baringo county. Significantly, Kerio Valley Professionals Association advocates for land rights for communities along the border of Baringo county and Elgeyo-Marakwet county. The analysis reveals the following frames within narratives in the discourse of Kenyan CBOs addressing land injustices: victim, good vs evil, bad governance, and insecurity of tenure as strategic negotiation characters that constitute a prerequisite for legitimisation and proper enactment of land laws. At the same time, these narrative frames are laden with emotions such as anger, frustration, despair, and fear. Therefore, this research sheds light on how CBOs navigate for land rights by use of frames within narratives, particularly in public discourse, to sanction their emotional expressions as positive for the movements in order to bring about resistance and change for the benefit of the community.

Mapping of Indices of Slum and Informal Housing Development in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

Slums and informal housing developments in Akure are growing at an unprecedented rate. It is on this basis that this work sets out to map out the indices of slum and informal housing development in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. High-resolution satellite data, as well as primary and secondary data, were used in the study. Based on collected data, ArcGIS 10.3.1 software was used to prepare a base map showing the existing land use, built up area in 1986, 2002, and 2019, and indices of slums, or informal housing in Akure. The indices were rated on a scale of 1–5 and the results obtained revealed that socio-economic indices [housing shortage, lack of affordable housing, high incidences of urban poverty, high incidences of rural or urban–urban migration and unemployment], institutional indices [poor enforcement of planning laws, unclear regulation and long procedures for building plan approvals, and lack of planning/development plans], political indices [inadequate provision of sites and services, tenure insecurity and eviction, and poor resettlement programme by the government] and environmental indices [high density of development and overcrowding, inadequate neighbourhood facilities and services, and inadequate sanitation] are most significant in the core and peripheral areas of Akure. The study recommends slum upgrading programmes oriented to the betterment of the current conditions of slum households and neighbourhoods and formal housing aimed at securing access to adequate housing for all, in particular the most vulnerable, promoting affordable and safe solutions and inclusive housing finance systems.

What is Forest Tenure (In)Security? Insights from Participatory Prospective Analysis

What is Forest Tenure (In)Security? Insights from Participatory Prospective Analysis

Determinants of water security in smallholder farming systems in South Africa: a review

Attaining water security is critical for enhancing agricultural production in many countries worldwide. In South Africa, water insecurity is one of the factors affecting agricultural production, especially in the smallholder farming sector. The review focused on factors that influence water security in smallholder farming systems in South Africa and also proposed possible solutions to improve the water security status for smallholder farmers. A search of published articles was conducted on Scopus and Google Scholar databases using the keywords water access, water security, water scarcity, smallholder farmers, smallholder agriculture and South Africa. The study identified various factors that contribute to water insecurity for smallholder farmers, including lack of adequate infrastructure, the poor performance of water infrastructure, lack of farmer involvement in water-related management activities and land tenure insecurity. Smallholder farmers also failed to acquire water-use licences. During periods of drought, they were unable to adopt strategies for improving water security. Recommendations include addressing issues related to infrastructure availability, water allocation and distribution, and the capability to operate, manage and maintain the infrastructure. The study also recommends that policy and decision-makers be acknowledged and address the impacts of droughts on water resource availability.

Analysing land use/land cover changes and its dynamics using remote sensing and GIS in Gubalafito district, Northeastern Ethiopia

Mapping and quantifying the status of Land use/Land cover (LULC) changes and drivers of change are important for identifying vulnerable areas for change and designing sustainable ecosystem services. This study analyzed the status of LULC changes and key drivers of change for the last 30 years through a combination of remote sensing and GIS with the surveying of the local community understanding of LULC patterns and drivers in the Gubalafto district, Northeastern Ethiopia. Five major LULC types (cultivated and settlement, forest cover, grazing land, bush land and bare land) from Landsat images of 1986, 2000, and 2016 were mapped. The results demonstrated that cultivated and settlement constituted the most extensive type of LULC in the study area and increased by 9% extent. It also revealed that a substantial expansion of bush land and bare land areas during the past 30 years. On the other hand, LULC classes that has high environmental importance such as grazing land and forest cover have reduced drastically through time with expanding cultivated and settlement during the same period. The grazing land in 1986 was about 11.1% of the total study area, and it had decreased to 5.7% in 2016. In contrast, cultivated and settlement increased from 45.6% in 1986 to 49.5% in 2016. Bush land increased from 14.8 to 21% in the same period, while forest cover declined from 8.9 to 2% in the same period. The root causes for LULC changes in this particular area include population growth, land tenure insecurity, and common property rights, persistent poverty, climate change, and lack of public awareness. Therefore, the causes for LULC changes have to be controlled, and sustainable resources use is essential; else, these scarce natural resource bases will soon be lost and will no longer be able to play their contribution in sustainable ecosystem services.Article HighlightsForest cover and grazing lands declined rapidly.Fluctuating trends in cultivated and settlement, bush land and bare land.Population pressure and associated demand are the main causes behind LULC changes in the study area.

Tenure insecurity and incremental housing development in the peri-urban interface of Ibadan, Nigeria

The increasing urbanization being experienced in countries of Africa exacerbates current housing needs and tenure insecurity. In Ibadan, Nigeria, the urban populace finds it easier to access land in the informal land market because of the strictness of the formal land market. This results in incremental housing development. Based on the self-help theory, the study examined the contribution of tenure insecurity to the development of incremental housing in peri-urban Ibadan. A cross-sectional research design and mixed methods were employed in the study. 248 household heads were selected from 6 LGAs of Ibadan and administered with a structured questionnaire. Ethical protocols were followed and informed consent was obtained. The study revealed that the majority of the incremental developers were illiterates. Factors that accounted for the incremental development included fear of eviction, high housing rent, and lack of funds. The study recommended enhancing access to secure land titles as it has multiplier-effects on housing.

Protected areas and the neglected contribution of Indigenous Peoples and local communities: Struggles for environmental justice in the Caatinga dry forest

Abstract Despite evidence about the contribution of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) to conservation, prevailing strategies still seek their separation from nature, often triggering conflicts. Current pledges to expand global protected area coverage suggest a need for the critical analysis of governance quality and the way conservation interacts with the well‐being of IPLCs. We present the case of Catimbau National Park in the Caatinga dry forest of northeast Brazil, where we explored connections between the well‐being of IPLCs and landscape through different values, practices and institutions, and perceptions of how environmentally just the park's governance has been. The well‐being of IPLCs is inextricably connected with the Caatinga landscape, through multiple place‐based relational values that, although differing between Indigenous and non‐indigenous inhabitants, have in both cases developed over generations. Although often framed as degraders, IPLCs exhibit a strong motivation to conserve, reflected through local institutions including forest gardens, sustainable use regulations, restoration activities and prevention of external encroachment. The strict form of protected area implemented at Catimbau, instead of a locally led or sustainable use reserve, explicitly targeted the resettlement of IPLCs and livelihood reorientation. These imposed objectives have clashed with a way of life in this peopled landscape and precluded local stewardship on a larger scale. Long‐term conflict arose through governance deficiencies which sparked multidimensional injustices. These include not only the misrecognition of local values and customary institutions but also the lack of procedures for consent or decision‐making influence, plus distributional harms including tenure insecurity and denied development assistance. Development and conservation strategies must reject narratives about poor, resource‐dependent rural communities and embrace the opportunities that local knowledge and institutions bring for effective conservation. As conservation efforts are expanded post‐2020, the people of the Caatinga and beyond must be recognised as embedded and a key part of any solution. In strict protected areas like Catimbau, where social conflict constrains their ability to function, seeking legal changes in governance type can be onerous. However, we describe other local‐level actions to build relationships and agency that may foster transitions towards better governance, and just treatment of IPLCs. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Understanding smallholder farmer decision making in forest land restoration using agent-based modeling

Success of forest restoration at farm level depends on the farmer´s decision-making and the constraints to farmers’ actions. There is a gap between the intentions and the actual behavior towards restoration in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Global South. To understand this discrepancy, our study uses empirical household survey data to design and parameterize an agent-based model. WEEM (Woodlot Establishment and Expansion Model) has been designed based on household socio-demographics and projects the temporal dynamics of woodlot numbers in Uganda. The study contributes to a mechanistic understanding of what determines the current gap between farmer’s intention and actual behavior. Results reveal that an increase in knowledge of the current forest policies laws and regulations (PLRs) from 18% to 50% and to 100% reduces the average number of woodlots by 18% and 79% respectively. Lack of labor reduces the number of woodlots by 80%. Increased labor requirement from 4 to 8 and to 12 man-days, reduces the number of woodlots by 26% and 61% respectively. WEEM indicates that absence of household labor and de facto misconception of PLRs “perceived tenure insecurity” constrains the actual behavior of farmers. We recommend forest PLRs to provide full rights of use and ownership of trees established on private farmland. Tree fund in the case of Uganda should be operationalized to address the transaction costs and to achieve the long-term targets of forest land restoration.

The impact of land certification on cropland abandonment: evidence from rural China

PurposeThis study explores how the land tenure system helps in protecting land quantity during agricultural production by estimating the influence of land certification on cropland abandonment, its mechanisms and its heterogeneous effects among groups at the provincial, community and household levels.Design/methodology/approachTo deal with potential homogeneity concerns, the authors investigate the impact of land certification on the area of abandoned croplands using nationally representative panel data from the 2017 and 2019 China Rural Household Panel Survey on 15,000 households across 29 provinces and time-varying difference-in-differences and propensity score matching-difference-in-differences models.FindingsLand certification significantly contributes to the protection of land quantity during agricultural production, and it reduces the area of abandoned croplands by at least 4%. This effect is mainly achieved by improving soil fertility, promoting land transfer, increasing the availability of agricultural subsidies and raising agricultural income. However, while land certification benefits farmers in nonmajor grain-producing areas and western regions, in plain, remote and nonpolitically central villages, and farmers who have not undergone land transfer or land adjustment, it is not beneficial for others.Research limitations/implicationsIn the postepidemic era, food security based on the protection of the amount of cultivated land becomes increasingly important. It is realistic and inevitable to rationally use every inch of cultivated land and curb the cropland abandonment by strengthening land tenure system reform, especially in the case of the insecurity of land tenure.Practical implicationsThere are various factors affecting farmers' cropland abandonment, such as poor soil fertility, unavailable land transfer, too little agricultural subsidies and too low agricultural income, but the root cause is the insecurity of land tenure. Empirical evidence from rural China has shown that a clear definition and effective protection of property rights can help curb the cropland abandonment. Enhancing the land protection behavior of farmers through the reform of land certification and promoting the sustainable use of land are what the reform of land tenure system should be.Social implicationsCultivated land, as the material carrier and endowment basis of grain production, is of great importance to safeguarding national food security, especially in the postepidemic era. At the present stage, it is still necessary for most developing countries to strengthen the construction of land tenure system, to carry out land certification reform and to issue farmers with clearly defined and legally effective land certificates. Equally important, efforts also should be made to promote the diversified utilization of the achievements of the certification after the completion of land certification reform in China and other developing countries.Originality/valueExpropriation and occupation of croplands are essential in protecting land quantity during rapid urbanization, and so is reducing cropland abandonment during agricultural production; therefore, it deserves close attention. In this regard, this study estimates the impact of land certification on the area of abandoned croplands, examines its possible mechanisms and identifies its heterogeneous effects to test the applicability of the property rights theory in the Chinese context and enrich the relevant literature and provide Chinese evidence for other developing countries to strengthen the protection of land quantity, by deepening the reform of the land tenure system under different circumstances.

Urban public land management from governance dimension: The case of Gelan and Lega Tafo Lega Dadi Towns

This study is an assessment of Urban Public Land Management from Governance Dimension: The case of Gelan and Lega Tafo Lega Dadi Towns. To achieve these objectives qualitative and quantitative research approach was employed to identify the gaps under urban public land management from governance dimension. Questionnaires, interview, focus group discussion, and secondary data were employed to collect data and these data were analyzed using descriptively. The findings of the study revealed that urban public land management is hindered by an absence of clear policies, direction strong institutions, transparency, and public participation and urban public land do not identified according to the land use planning. The criteria for urban public land ownership was not clearly defined and assigned to the right level of government. Hence, urban public land management still suffers from a lack of proper recording, scarcity, and inaccessibility of data. There is no urban land management law for peri-urban areas yet and the role of the urban land management and investment office at the town level is overlapped. Furthermore the scope and limitation of public purpose are unknown since the power of expropriation given to the state is a broader one and this creates tenure insecurity on all urban landholders. Finally compensation was not provided for the acquisition of all rights regardless of their recording status and there is no legal framework on how to compensate communal land and there is no compensation paid for urban land-use changes that affected small enterprises and service providing firms. Key words: Urban land management, good governance, and urban public land management.