Demand for second-stage land certification in Ethiopia: Evidence from household panel data

Ethiopia has implemented one of the largest, fastest and least expensive land registration and certification reforms in Africa. While there is evidence that this ‘first-stage’ land registration has had positive effects in terms of increased investment, land productivity and land rental market activities, the government is now piloting another round of land registration and certification that involves technically advanced land survey methods and computer registration. This ‘second-stage’ land registration differs from the registration system employed in the first round that used field markings in conjunction with neighbors’ recollections to identify plot borders. We use panel data from 600 households in southern Ethiopia to investigate household perceptions of and demand for such a new registration and certification. Our study revealed relatively low demand and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for second-stage certificates. The WTP also decreases significantly from 2007 to 2012. Our findings indicate that farmers do not believe that the second-stage certificate enhances tenure security relative to the first-stage certificate except in instances in which first-stage certification was poorly implemented. The demand for second-stage certificates appears to come primarily from governmental authorities, as it can provide a better basis for land administration and produce accessible public documentation of land-related affairs.     

CORS系统在上海市集体土地所有权调查项目中的应用

本文在详细介绍CORS系统的基本原理及分析其优势的基础上,将其应用于上海市集体土地所有权调查中,完成实测界址点和图形数据成果检查验收,充分发挥其精度高,速度快的优势,保证调查成果质量。     

Inked: historic African-American beach site as collective memory and group ‘Third Place’ sociability on Martha’s Vineyard

Using data gained from ethnographic research and interviews, this article examines ‘third place’ sociability in the social interactions of the Polar Bears of Martha’s Vineyard, a group of predominantly but not exclusively middle-aged and senior African-American men and women who swim, exercise and socialise together each morning at ‘the Inkwell’ beach. Using Georg Simmel’s concept of sociability and Ray Oldenburg’s third-place theoretical framework, this study explores the key role of the Monday communal breakfast and the function of conversation in establishing bonds between individuals. It further investigates the promotion of strong feelings of social connectedness, belonging, social support, social capital gains and community among its group members. The ongoing sociability and informal rules of the Polar Bears of Martha’s Vineyard has enabled it to become a model group demonstration of third-place community building. The importance of race, class and place is socio-historically investigated within the broader social context of the popular racialised section of the beach, ‘the Inkwell’, of African-American community life, and within the sub-community milieu of group social interaction.     

‘Swift Rail’—funding local rail transit through smarter growth

Many medium-size cities suffer from severe traffic congestion and poor accessibility, limiting their potential to improve their economy, environment, and social equity. These problems could be addressed by creating high-quality transit linking such cities with suburban and other catchment areas through use of existing rail lines and abandoned former railway alignments. This concept, termed ‘Swift Rail’, would call for an innovative approach to local railway and transport development.     

Adoption of volunteered geographic information into the formal land administration system in Kenya

Individualization of tenure through title registration programmes introduced in many African countries after independence with the promise of security of tenure and increased agricultural productivity has, instead, had the opposite effect. Informal land arrangements continue to emerge as a result of the slow pace of land adjudication (formalization) and updating of land information systems. The trend towards computerization of land information systems has only put focus on already existing formal land tenure arrangements, leaving out the informal social tenure arrangements. As a result, there are now many efforts worldwide motivated by the introduction of the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM), and freely-available and easy-to-use technology tools to identify, document and map land in support of informal land administration arrangements. Actions are made towards the use of community-generated information to support land administration. Using theories from the interplay between formal and informal institutions, this paper discusses the potential outcomes in adopting Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in land administration in Kenya. Two case studies are presented that demonstrate the complementary-accommodating, versus the substitutive-competing approaches. These are then compared with the formal land adjudication process in Kenya. It is established that because of the direct involvement of the national mapping agency in land adjudication where VGI is utilized, the outcome is a case of formal adoption of VGI, while in the other case, where there is little or no involvement by the national mapping agency, the outcome is more of competition and substitution. The latter is an example in which the VGI is used just like any other information to inform policy making, rather than taking it as the authoritative source. We argue that since informality is – and will always be – part and parcel of land administration in many African countries as a result of ingrained social relations and power structures, adopting crowdsourced land information into existing formal land administration systems should consider the particular land administration process, satisfying innate demands and requirements, thus re-engineered to accommodate VGI.     

论我国土地征用制度中公共利益问题的认定

对于我国土地征收(用)中的公共利益问题,我国相关法律均未作出明确界定,使得土地征收中公共利益被泛化,严重侵害了征收相对人的合法权益。明确界定和合理把握公共利益问题,必须建立相应程序、遵循相应的原则和标准。     

农村宅基地使用权申请审批问题研究——基于地方立法文本的分析

地方立法中的申请审批条款在一定程度上决定着我国农村宅基地申请审批的实际状况。通过对地方立法文本中关于申请审批的立法模式和内容构成的统计分析，发现我国目前宅基地申请人的资格不一，审批中农村集体经济组织主体位置虚缺，而且宅基地立法层级很低，立法清理工作不及时。我国今后应明确农村集体经济组织成员的内涵，强化宅基地所有权人在审批中的作用，制定统一的《农村宅基地使用权法》。     

Forecasting housing land requirements

Summary

Because of pressures on the countryside by private housing development, the Government and the planners have become increasingly involved in planning policy issues and in forecasting land requirements. The forecasting techniques used are examined, and their translation into local allocations through structure and local plans and land availability studies are looked at. The demand for more land releases is attributed more to structural changes in the housebuilding industry and local land shortages in the south‐east than to real shortfalls in housing provision. There is a need for improved monitoring systems for land resource management, particularly in balancing ‘green‐field’ releases against development/redevelopment in existing urban areas.     

Urban land management in China: A study of the present system and an investigation of current issues and problems

Summary

The paper commences by describing the statutory basis for land tenure and management. It examines the constitutional basis for land ownership and occupation rights, as amended by land administration law. The legal system and procedures at both central and local government level are introduced, with particular mention made of the special measures for land requisition. This is followed by a study of the organizational structure for land management in China at state and local government levels. The roles and responsibilities of the major agencies of government at both levels are explained, and related to the organization of urban planning. A separate section is then devoted to those areas such as Special Economic Zones and Open Coastal Cities which have been selected for preferential treatment, particularly in respect of the transfer of land use rights.

The paper concludes with a study of the main issues and problems that currently confront China in the field of urban land management. And some suggestions are made where further reform is required and additional research of potential benefit.     

中国农民集体土地产权配置的实证辨析

在偏重公平价值的中国农民集体土地产权配置的基本框架下,任何追求效率的具体法律安排均无法避免与之发生内在冲突;无论是集体土地所有权的性质悖论、主体悖论还是土地承包经营权的性质悖论都是这种冲突的必然结果。要提高农业生产的效率,必须从实证的角度改革农民集体土地的产权配置,化解现存悖论;改革只能以明晰土地承包经营权的物权性质为切入点。