Tension, Conflict, and Negotiability of Land for Infrastructure Retrofit Practices in Informal Settlements

Mahsa Mesgar, Diego Ramirez-Lovering and Mohamed El-Sioufi
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Mahsa Mesgar: Monash Art Design and Architecture, Department of Architecture, Monash University, Melbourne 3145, Australia
Diego Ramirez-Lovering: Monash Art Design and Architecture, Department of Architecture, Monash University, Melbourne 3145, Australia
Mohamed El-Sioufi: Monash Art Design and Architecture, Department of Architecture, Monash University, Melbourne 3145, Australia

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Tension and conflict are endemic to any upgrading initiative (including basic infrastructure provision) requiring private land contributions, whether in the form of voluntary donations or compensated land acquisitions. In informal urban contexts, practitioners must first identify well-suited land for public infrastructure, both spatially and with careful consideration for safeguarding claimed rights and preventing conflicts. At the same time, they need to defuse existing tensions over land ownership and land use rights while negotiating for the potential use of a unit of land for infrastructure. Even in the case of employing participatory methods, land negotiations are never tension-free. Despite the extensive literature on linkages between urban poverty, inefficient land management systems, and land disputes, in both rural and urban settings, land negotiations for community-scale infrastructure retrofit projects (e.g., neighbourhood roads, water and sanitation infrastructure) are yet to be fully explored. Drawing on a case study of a live green infrastructure retrofit project in six informal settlements in Makassar, Indonesia, we establish links to exchange theory, collective action, and negotiation theory to build a reliable analytical framework for understanding and explaining the land negotiations in small-scale infrastructure retrofit practices. We aim to describe and assess the fundamental conditions for land negotiations in an informal urban context and conclude the paper by summarising several key strategies developed and used in the case study area to forge land agreements.

Keywords: informal settlements; land negotiation; informal land rights; infrastructure retrofit; green infrastructure; land conflicts; WASH (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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