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Sustainable Urbanization on Occupied Land? The Politics of Infrastructure Development and Resettlement in Beira City, Mozambique

Author

Listed:
  • Murtah Shannon

    (Department of Human Geography and Planning, University of Utrecht, 3584CB Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Kei Otsuki

    (Department of Human Geography and Planning, University of Utrecht, 3584CB Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Annelies Zoomers

    (Department of Human Geography and Planning, University of Utrecht, 3584CB Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Mayke Kaag

    (African Studies Centre, 2300RB Leiden, The Netherlands)

Abstract

With this article we contribute to debates on urban land governance and sustainable urban development in Africa by providing an empirical analysis of forced displacement and resettlement associated with infrastructure development in Beira city, Mozambique. In recent years Beira has become the recipient of numerous investment flows targeting the built environment by a range of international investors. By analyzing the micropolitical engagements associated with three different infrastructure projects, based on extensive qualitative interviews, observations, and document analysis, we demonstrate how each intervention has been associated with highly informal and divergent processes of forced displacement and resettlement. We argue that these land related impacts have been annexed from debates on sustainable infrastructure development, and that they exhibit some fundamental differences from established resettlement research. We conclude by arguing that forced displacement and resettlement should be understood as a deliberate and systematic feature of urban infrastructure development, through which new social-spatial arrangements are created. This ultimately points to the emergence of a novel mode of fragmented urbanism within the context of urban development in Africa which poses new challenges to urban sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Murtah Shannon & Kei Otsuki & Annelies Zoomers & Mayke Kaag, 2018. "Sustainable Urbanization on Occupied Land? The Politics of Infrastructure Development and Resettlement in Beira City, Mozambique," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3123-:d:167113
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joseph Hanlon, 2017. "Following the donor-designed path to Mozambique’s US$2.2 billion secret debt deal," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(3), pages 753-770, March.
    2. Wendy Wolford & Saturnino M. Borras Jr. & Ruth Hall & Ian Scoones & Ben White & Madeleine Fairbairn, 2013. "Indirect Dispossession: Domestic Power Imbalances and Foreign Access to Land in Mozambique," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 44(2), pages 335-356, March.
    3. Susan Parnell & Edgar Pieterse, 2016. "Translational Global Praxis: Rethinking Methods and Modes of African Urban Research," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 236-246, January.
    4. Lucy Earle, 2014. "Stepping out of the Twilight? Assessing the Governance Implications of Land Titling and Regularization Programmes," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 628-645, March.
    5. Alex Shankland & Raul Chambote, 2011. "Prioritising PPCR Investments in Mozambique: The Politics of ‘Country Ownership’ and ‘Stakeholder Participation’," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(3), pages 62-69, May.
    6. Kathryn Davidson & Brendan Gleeson, 2014. "The Sustainability of an Entrepreneurial City?," International Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 173-191, May.
    7. Siti Nuryanah & Sardar M. N. Islam, 2015. "The Context of the Case Study," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Corporate Governance and Financial Management, chapter 5, pages 145-156, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Liangzhen Zang & Yiqing Su, 2019. "Internal Coordinated Development of China’s Urbanization and Its Spatiotemporal Evolution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Almeida, Bernardo & Jacobs, Carolien, 2022. "Land expropriation – The hidden danger of climate change response in Mozambique," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    3. Annelies (E.B.) Zoomers, 2018. "Development at the Crossroads of Capital Flows and Migration: Leaving No One Behind?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Murtah Shannon, 2019. "Who Controls the City in the Global Urban Era? Mapping the Dimensions of Urban Geopolitics in Beira City, Mozambique," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-19, February.
    5. Yulong Luo & Can Wang & Chen Chen & Kangle Ding & Weiliang Zeng, 2021. "Total Investment in Fixed Assets and the Later Stage of Urbanization: A Case Study of Shanghai," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-29, March.
    6. Adewunmi, Yewande & Chigbu, Uchendu Eugene & Mwando, Sam & Kahireke, Uaurika, 2023. "Entrepreneurship role in the co-production of public services in informal settlements − A scoping review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).

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