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Reform and resistance: The political economy of land and planning reform in Kenya

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  • Ellen Bassett

Abstract

In August 2010, Kenyans voted to adopt a new Constitution. Amongst its many provisions was devolved governance, which established 47 independent counties each led by a directly elected governor and legislative assembly. The Constitution also sought to address the country’s ‘land question’ by radically reworking land institutions and administration. The Constitution introduced an independent body, the National Land Commission, empowered to oversee public land management and allocation. Constitutional provisions devolved significant powers and responsibilities in land management and planning to the county level. These reforms – stressing transparency, accountability and greater community participation in land planning and administration – were intended to halt endemic corruption at the Ministry of Lands, address land injustices, enhance tenure security, and facilitate better-functioning land markets. This paper examines the unfolding institutional reform around land pursuant to the 2010 Constitution. It explores the political economy of land in Kenya by examining incentives for and impediments to institutional change toward better land management and long sought-after land justice. As with many reforms adopted throughout the Global South, Kenya’s land reforms were premised on ‘getting the incentives right’. Incentivising behaviour is extremely complicated in a sector as complex, dynamic and profitable as the land sector. The research highlights the role of urban planners, actors rarely examined in the literature on Kenya’s land politics. Kenya’s faltering land reform is a result of the internal conflicting incentives of land actors and the fact that no legal reform will be sufficient to alter entrenched behaviour without renewed pressure from a broad-based land justice/human rights movement.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Bassett, 2020. "Reform and resistance: The political economy of land and planning reform in Kenya," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(6), pages 1164-1183, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:57:y:2020:i:6:p:1164-1183
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098019829366
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Patrick McAuslan, 1998. "Making Law Work: Restructuring Land Relations in Africa," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 525-552, July.
    2. Tom Goodfellow, 2018. "Seeing Political Settlements through the City: A Framework for Comparative Analysis of Urban Transformation," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(1), pages 199-222, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Myers, Rodd & Fisher, Micah & Monterroso, Iliana & Liswanti, Nining & Maryudi, Ahmad & Larson, Anne M. & Mwangi, Esther & Herawati, Tuti, 2022. "Coordinating forest tenure reform: Objectives, resources and relations in Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, and Uganda," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Singhapathirana, Priyanwada Indeewaree & Hui, Eddie Chi Man & Jayantha, Wadu Mesthrige, 2022. "Critical factors affecting the public land development: A systematic review and thematic synthesis," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).

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