The Evolving Role of World Bank Urban Shelter Projects : Addressing Land Market and Economy-wide Constraints
The purpose of this study was to augment the Bank's research on land markets and investigate key land market issues in four case study cities in South and East Asia. From the study results, the consultants have attempted to determine whether or not certain policy instruments can be adopted in the respective cities and in other regions of the world. Ultimately the study, in tracing the role of various land development policies in these cities, may provide guidance to the World Bank in understanding the effects of constraints on the land and housing markets and in determining alternative policy measures to address the shelter needs of the urban poor. The study aimed to provide a way forward for using less conventional instruments under those market constraints. This final report shows the results of the work conducted after the submission of the inception report in May 2007 and the draft final report in August 2007. It is divided into four sections. In this first section, a brief introduction provides the background to the study, its objectives, and the main characteristics that effect urban land and housing markets. It also provides the context for the study by illustrating the methodology used in carrying it out. The second section focuses on a literature review of innovative land policy instruments. In the third section, the main political economy issues involved in promoting and implementing innovative land policy instruments are discussed. This section draws heavily on the information collected from the four study cities surveyed together with materials known to the authors. The fourth and final section will assess the applicability of indicators used for data collection and propose a core set of indicators for analyzing the policy-making processes in urban land management. Appendix A contains the survey instrument used to conduct the study while appendix B provides the specific guidelines used in interviewing stakeholders on less conventional land use instruments.