Managing peri-urban land development : building on pro-poor land management principles
Opoku Nyarko, Juliana
Population growth and urban expansion of major cities and urban areas in many African countries have caused densification of the urban centres. One of the effects of this is the increasing demand for land and housing needs. The high demand for lands in the peri-urban areas have been causing massive land development rapidly springing up in those areas. The threat to land is such that, the rural poor people lose lands previously used for agricultural purposes. Since land is a basic resource for wealth creation, it is essential that land developments in the peri-urban areas be well managed to prevent creating slums and making the rural poor people poorer. A pro-poor approach to land management and administration has become a major focus for international development organisations in recent times, such that, some development funds are devoted for programs and projects aimed at reforming the land sector of the economies of many developing countries. Ghana has benefitted from such funding through the Ghana Land Administration Project (LAP). This paper examines the rapid spread of land developments in peri-urban areas and its impact on the subjectss of the communities. This underpins the need for proper pro-poor approaches to land management and administration to ensure proper management of the territory,in order to protect the environment and uphold cultural heritage within peri-urban areas.
Event: FIG Working Week 2012 : Territory, environment, and cultural heritage
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