Strategies for intervention in the urban land sector

strategy paper provides guidance on options for helping Third World countries increase the supply of land for low-cost urban housing. Part I establishes a twofold rationale for making this issue a key focus of A.I.D."s policy dialogue: (1) the increasing non-availability of suitable land due to population expansion; and (2) the centrality of land tenure security to the stability of local communities and to their willingness to invest in home improvements. Part II specifies A.I.D."s land policy objectives, including land tenure security, land market efficiency, and government promotion of private action. After setting out the intervention priorities of A.I.D."s Office of Housing and Urban Programs, Part III identifies suitable kinds of capital projects and technical assistance activities. The former include financing land assembly and development by private developers and informal sector brokers or through public-private partnerships; the latter include work in land information and data assembly, land use standards/affordability, and land problem diagnostics. The final section addresses implementation strategies and organizational roles. A short diagnostic visit is suggested, with a possible follow-up mission to assess land issues in greater detail and conduct a project feasibility analysis. Land, it is noted, should be an explicit component of Housing Guaranty Program capital projects. Finally, the report suggests ways that training can advance land sector goals and identifies a research agenda. (Author abstract, modified)