Collaborative Governance in Land Acquisition and Aggregation Practices: The Impacts on Neighbourhood Functionalities in Tanzania

Abstract

In urban development projects, the amount of land needs to be large enough to support not only the intended development but also the subsequent well-functioning of the neighbourhood through enhanced accessibility, service provision and liveability in general. Obtaining land for public goods and services at neighbourhood level may however be difficult especially in developing countries’ cities where the formal-informal continuum hampers the effective urban planning and development. This is attributed to the fact that a larger part of land in these cities is occupied and any public good or service provision initiative must be through either compulsory land acquisition or land aggregation approaches. In either approach there are pros and cons towards realising the well-functioning of the neighbourhood in terms accessibility, recreation, social services and other public amenities. Based on non-parametric tests of neighbourhood functionality differences across land access modalities, the survey data across wards in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania it has been revealed that government action through compulsory acquisition of land may be justifiable in as much as the functioning of social and physical infrastructure is concerned but can limitedly be relied upon in making such facilities available in the first place. Voluntary contribution of land, open market purchase and even the voluntary contribution of cash are working better than compulsory acquisition of land for that purpose. Further evidence alludes to the fact that compulsory acquisition of land is not only detrimental to neighbourhood social networks but also can worsen neighbourhood level economic opportunities. As such alternatives to compulsory acquisition need be used in well-developed inner city neighbourhoods while some combination of compulsory or voluntary land and cash contributions are well suited in outskirt neighbourhoods.