Tenure Security and Responsible Land Management of Urban Informal Settlements on Waqf Land in Semarang City, Indonesia

Iwan Rudiarto (), Walter Timo de Vries (), Alvita Bhanuningtyas Rustanto and Kanaya Aliyanadira Hidayat
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Iwan Rudiarto: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Diponegoro University, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
Walter Timo de Vries: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Diponegoro University, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
Alvita Bhanuningtyas Rustanto: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Diponegoro University, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
Kanaya Aliyanadira Hidayat: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Diponegoro University, Semarang 50275, Indonesia

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: The major challenge facing big cities in developing nations is allocating residential land to the urban poor, given the constraints on land availability. This article investigates how and why the management of Waqf land, a particular type of land tenure in urban informal settlements, transforms. The analysis draws on principles of responsible land management and focuses on the specific case of Waqf land owned by the Kauman Grand Mosque in Semarang City, Indonesia. With a questionnaire distributed among tenants of the Waqf land, it was possible to retrieve data on experiences with the management of the Waqf land. The questionnaire and subsequent analysis used a scoring sheet based on the 8R framework of responsible land management. The findings indicate that the management of Waqf land in the study area changed and improved over time, evolving from an informal to a more formal structure. The responses additionally demonstrate a gradual transformation whereby, gradually, nearly all aspects of the 8R framework of responsible land management are considered positively. Nevertheless, the aspects of reflexivity and retraceability still score low, as access to documentation is still limited, and evaluations of how effective the management of land is are infrequent. The study concludes that despite being an unconventional form of land management, the Waqf land tenure regime appears to secure informal types of urban tenure, especially in areas with limited land availability. Moreover, the Waqf land institution supports strong and cooperative relationships within the community.

Keywords: waqf land; informal settlement; 8R framework; responsible land management; urban tenure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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