Description

The book adds to the far-ranging debate about realizing sustainable development in the World. Developing Countries need infrastructure projects for the modernization of the economies. Most of these development projects happen on land. Two approaches are involved here. The first is that Governments possess the power of eminent domain and can carry-out compulsory land acquisition. The Second approach is utilizing the vast public reserve land at the disposal of many urban cities in Developing Countries. The reality is however, that most reserve public land in urban spaces has been encroached by informal micro-enterprises who eke livelihood from this model. The legality for encroachment of public land is a debate for another day and most governments have tolerated this ‘illegal encroachment model’, because they have a duty to confer livelihoods to their populations.

Now comes to the question about people who have contributed to the development projects with their own land and livelihood, should they be subjected to deprivation? In the bid to accommodate rapid urbanization happening through-out the developing Countries, they will need any available land sooner or later. Whether by design or default, most urban micro-enterprises spawned in wide urban spaces, give way for the urban regeneration projects. Even when international standards and practice calls for compensation or livelihood restoration when displacement is concerned, this is better said than done.
This book addresses how policy can be tilted and adjusted to allocate a ‘win-win’ situation between the Government as the displacer and the project affected people (PAPs) as the displacees.