14.1. Land Tenure

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

For Urban Regeneration, and especially for a Slum Upgrade, the legal status of land ownership is critical.


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Problem-statement: One of the fundamental problems for residents of informal settlements is the simple question of who actually owns their land.


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Discussion: Many informal settlements are created by developers who do not themselves own the land, or who do not legally convey a “clear title” to the residents who live there. This creates many problems for the residents — which may include the inability to secure a legal address for their home, to receive mail, to secure credit, or even to complete a job application. Worst of all, the residents may be evicted from their homes at any time, either by the “legal” owner of the land, or by a government action based on conflicting ownership claims — or in some cases, no ownership records at all.¹


The best way to secure land tenure is to create a single “cadastral plan” that locates plots and records ownership. This document is recorded with the local government, together with deed records to establish accuracy. The owner need not be the resident of the plot, who can be a renter, or a grantee of usage rights — as for example when the land is in a Community Land Trust. If there is a conflict between ownership claims, the cadastral plan governs, unless and until a disputing party can establish through the local court system that they have legal tenure.


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An example of a cadastral plan that was created after the fact for a village in France. Image: ManiacParisien via Wikimedia Commons.


Secure land tenure is an important condition of healthy urban growth. It is typical that, once residents have clear ownership of their land, they will continue to invest in their self-built house. Also in the case where a basic house unit is already built, owners will continue to maintain and upgrade it. This is the way that cities have evolved historically, with piecemeal additions and gradual improvement of house components with more permanent materials.


In securing land tenure, serious procedural and legal conflicts can and do arise. Residents in dire financial straits may be induced to sell their deed to someone better off and move to another location, thereby perpetuating the loss of land tenure. Protections must also be made against criminal activities, including coercion by local organized crime. In some cases, residents are coerced to sell their deeds to allow a syndicate to become a district’s overall landlord. This kind of coercion must be prevented through cadastral transfer review and enforcement mechanisms.


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Therefore:

Work to identify and record the ownership of all plots of land within existing and future informal settlements.


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Provide a Neighborhood Planning Center offering resources for residents to document and secure tenure for their land. Use the Community Land Trust model when residents are unable to purchase their own land individually, but secure tenure is still needed…




¹ There is a growing body of research on the problem of land tenure and ownership for informal settlements. See for example Durand-Lasserve, A., & Royston, L. (Eds.). (2002). Holding their ground: Secure land tenure for the urban poor in developing countries. London: Routledge Earthscan.



Mehaffy, M. et al. (2020). LAND TENURE (pattern). In A New Pattern Language for Growing Regions. The Dalles: Sustasis Press. Available at https://pattern-language.wiki/.../Land_Tenure



SECTION I:

PATTERNS OF SCALE


1. REGIONAL PATTERNS

Define the large-scale spatial organization…

1.1. POLYCENTRIC REGION

1.2. BLUE-GREEN NETWORK

1.3. MOBILITY CORRIDOR

1.4. 400M THROUGH STREET NETWORK

2. URBAN PATTERNS

Establish essential urban characteristics…

2.1. WALKABLE MULTI-MOBILITY

2.2. LEVEL CITY

2.3. PUBLIC SPACE SYSTEM

2.4. BIOPHILIC URBANISM

3. STREET PATTERNS

Identify and allocate street types…

3.1. URBAN GREENWAY

3.2. MULTI-WAY BOULEVARD

3.3. AVENUE

3.4. SHARED SPACE LANE

4. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERNS

Define neighborhood-scale elements…

4.1. STREET AS CENTER

4.2. PEDESTRIAN SANCTUARY

4.3. NEIGHBORHOOD SQUARE

4.4. NEIGHBORHOOD PARK

5. SPECIAL USE PATTERNS

Integrate unique urban elements with care…

5.1. SCHOOL CAMPUS

5.2. MARKET CENTER

5.3. INDUSTRIAL AREA

5.4. HOSPITAL

6. PUBLIC SPACE PATTERNS

Establish the character of the crucial public realm…

6.1. PLACE NETWORK

6.2. WALKABLE STREETSCAPE

6.3. MOVABLE SEATING

6.4. CAPILLARY PATHWAY

7. BLOCK AND PLOT PATTERNS

Lay out the detailed structure of property lines…

7.1. SMALL BLOCKS

7.2. PERIMETER BLOCK

7.3. SMALL PLOTS

7.4. MID-BLOCK ALLEY

8. STREETSCAPE PATTERNS

Configure the street as a welcoming place…

8.1. STREET AS ROOM

8.2. TERMINATED VISTA

8.3. STREET TREES

8.4. STREET FURNISHINGS

9. BUILDING PATTERNS

Lay out appropriate urban buildings…

9.1. PERIMETER BUILDING

9.2. ARCADE BUILDING

9.3. COURTYARD BUILDING

9.4. ROW BUILDING

10. BUILDING EDGE PATTERNS

Create interior and exterior connectivity…

10.1. INDOOR-OUTDOOR AMBIGUITY

10.2. CIRCULATION NETWORK

10.3. LAYERED ZONES

10.4. PASSAGEWAY VIEW



SECTION II:

PATTERNS OF MULTIPLE SCALE


11. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

Build in coherent geometries at all scales…

11.1. LOCAL SYMMETRY

11.2. SMALL GROUPS OF ELEMENTS

11.3. FRACTAL PATTERN

11.4. FRAMING

12. AFFORDANCE PATTERNS

Build in user capacity to shape the environment…

12.1. HANDLES

12.2. CO-PRODUCTION

12.3. FRIENDLY SURFACES

12.4. MALLEABILITY

13. RETROFIT PATTERNS

Revitalize and improve existing urban assets …

13.1. SLUM UPGRADE

13.2. SPRAWL RETROFIT

13.3. URBAN REGENERATION

13.4. URBAN CONSOLIDATION

14. INFORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS

Accommodate “bottom-up” urban growth…

14.1. LAND TENURE

14.2. UTILITIES FIRST

14.3. DATA WITH THE PEOPLE

14.4. INCREMENTAL SELF-BUILD

15. CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS

Use the building process to enrich the result…

15.1. DESIGN-BUILD ADAPTATION

15.2. HUMAN-SCALE DETAIL

15.3. CONSTRUCTION ORNAMENT

15.4. COMPLEX MATERIALS



SECTION III:

PATTERNS OF PROCESS


16. IMPLEMENTATION TOOL PATTERNS

Use tools to achieve successful results…

16.1. FORM-BASED CODE

16.2. ENTITLEMENT STREAMLINING

16.3. NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CENTER

16.4. COMMUNITY MOCKUP

17. PROJECT ECONOMICS PATTERNS

Create flows of money that support urban quality…

17.1. TAX-INCREMENT FINANCING

17.2. LAND VALUE CAPTURE

17.3. EXTERNALITY VALUATION

17.4. ECONOMIES OF PLACE AND DIFFERENTIATION

18. PLACE GOVERNANCE PATTERNS

Processes for making and managing places…

18.1. SUBSIDIARITY

18.2. POLYCENTRIC GOVERNANCE

18.3. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PLACE MANAGEMENT

18.4. INFORMAL STEWARDSHIP

19. AFFORDABILITY PATTERNS

Build in affordability for all incomes…

19.1. INTEGRATED AFFORDABILITY

19.2. COMMUNITY LAND TRUST

19.3. MULTI-FAMILY INFILL

19.4. SPECULATION TAX

20. NEW TECHNOLOGY PATTERNS

Integrate new systems without damaging old ones…

20.1. SMART AV SYSTEM

20.2. RESPONSIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY

20.3. AUGMENTED REALITY DESIGN

20.4. CITIZEN DATA