Geoff is now back in Addis Ababa working as the lead land adviser on the ICF International project for the World Bank. He has been undertaking a review of the extensive literature on urban land policy and practice as a basis for identifying options for consideration by central and local government.
Geoff returned to Ulaanbaatar in October and November 2017 as the international land expert on the DAI project being undertaken for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The project seeks to understand how urban planning, urban expansion and urban land policy can support the water investment by MCC.
Geoff was commissioned by the World Bank to review the plans and land policy instruments being applied for the development of the new state capital after the bifurcation of the state in 2014. Land for the new capital is being acquired by three policy instruments, namely land pooling, negotiated settlements and formal land acquisition. The land pooling scheme is possibly the largest in the world and is the subject of local debate. Geoff’s role is to assess the way the policies are being implemented to ensure that no groups are disadvantaged.
The Millennium Development Goal 7 seeks to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020. However, current estimates suggest that there are presently 934 million people living in slums and this is projected to increase to 1.5 billion during the same period. It is therefore essential to both improve the security and rights of people who are currently in the various types of unauthorised settlements, as well as reduce the need for new unauthorised settlements in the future by increasing the supply of planned, legal and affordable land for low-income groups.
Is land tenure and property rights a problem in your city?
Are you interested in how to make access to legal housing easier for the poor?
Would you like to get a clearer picture of the range of housing rights and tenure categories in your local area?
Click here to learn about how to undertake a land tenure review and regulatory audit, and how these can help us meet demand for affordable and secure housing in the present and future.
Why not try to do your own regulatory audit or land tenure typology for your local area? We welcome your feedback, suggestions and ideas.
Before making any policy decisions regarding land tenure or property rights, it is advisable to undertake a review of the existing situation and the implications of each tenure category. Producing a typology of locally present tenure categories and their associated property rights will help you to do this. This website posting highlights the main concerns for undertaking a typology, gives step by step instructions on how to undertake your own typology of your local area and provides a general typology which can be adapted to local contexts.