The New Urban Question: Land, Livelihoods, and Livability in Megacities

Editorial — In the heart of Lagos, a city of over 20 million, workers rise before dawn to navigate hours of traffic from informal settlements to job centres. In Jakarta, thousands of families live on flood-prone riverbanks, unable to relocate due to the lack of legal title. And in São Paulo, entire communities face the threat of eviction as land values surge around new transit corridors.

As São Paulo’s transit infrastructure expands, rising land values around new corridors are placing long-established communities at risk of eviction and displacement. (Photo: Sérgio Souza)

Across the world’s megacities, a new urban question is emerging — one that places land access, tenure security, and livability at the center of the development agenda. As cities expand at unprecedented rates, the availability and affordability of land for housing and livelihoods has become a primary constraint on equity, resilience, and economic inclusion.

Livability Hinges on Land

The world’s urban population is expected to grow by 2.5 billion by 2050, with 90 percent of that growth concentrated in Asia and Africa. Much of this expansion is occurring in informal and peri-urban areas, where land tenure is often unclear or undocumented. Without secure, accessible land, efforts to improve urban livability through housing, infrastructure, and service delivery are unlikely to reach the populations most in need.

Land is the physical and economic foundation of cities, yet it is increasingly treated as a speculative commodity rather than a social good. As property markets heat up and regulatory frameworks lag behind, low- and middle-income residents are pushed to the periphery — spatially, economically, and legally.

In Mumbai, over half the population lives in informal settlements occupying less than a tenth of the city’s land. In Nairobi, expanding real estate developments are displacing long-standing communities, intensifying spatial inequality. In Manila, the shortage of affordable, well-located land has driven thousands of families to settle in environmentally hazardous areas, exposing them to eviction, flooding, and chronic underinvestment.

The Political Economy of Urban Land

Urban land markets are not neutral. They are shaped by historical legacies, legal frameworks, and policy choices that determine who has access to land and who is excluded. In many cities, land titling programs remain slow and inaccessible to the urban poor. Customary or communal land rights are often unrecognized by formal institutions, while bureaucratic hurdles, corruption, and a lack of transparency further restrict equitable access.

Planning decisions frequently reflect the interests of commercial developers and political elites, rather than those of low-income residents. Infrastructure expansion, urban renewal schemes, and mega-projects disproportionately affect communities without formal tenure, many of whom are evicted without compensation or resettlement. These processes not only weaken tenure security but can also erode trust in urban governance.

Informality as a Structural Outcome

Urban informality is frequently cast as a governance failure or a policy challenge. However, it is more accurately viewed as a systemic outcome — an adaptation by those excluded from the formal land and housing markets. When legal avenues to land are inaccessible, residents create informal solutions that meet their immediate needs but lack legal recognition or long-term stability.

Regularisation efforts in cities such as Medellín, Bogotá, and Bangkok have shown that recognizing a range of tenure types — including occupancy certificates, long-term leases, and community land titles — can improve security without requiring full ownership. These intermediate forms of tenure offer legal protection, enable service delivery, and reflect the diversity of urban land arrangements.

In contrast, attempts to formalize tenure without community consultation or attention to affordability may simply pave the way for displacement. Legal recognition must be coupled with policies that protect residents from speculative pressures and ensure that upgraded areas remain accessible to their current populations.

The Link Between Land and Livelihoods

The urban land debate often focuses narrowly on residential housing. However, for millions of people, land is also a place of work. Street vending, waste collection, informal markets, and home-based enterprises all depend on secure, accessible space. When these spaces are regulated out of existence or subject to eviction, livelihoods suffer.

In cities where informal employment accounts for a significant share of economic activity, regulating land use without consideration for informal economies can deepen poverty and inequality. Integrating livelihood-linked land needs into urban planning is essential for inclusive economic development.

Efforts to improve tenure security must therefore address both residential and commercial needs, especially in densely populated urban centers where space is contested and multifunctional.

Governance, Data, and Participation

Addressing the urban land challenge requires improved governance, updated data systems, and meaningful public participation. In many cities, land records are outdated, incomplete, or inaccessible, making it difficult to plan effectively or resolve disputes. Digital tools, participatory mapping, and community-led surveys are increasingly being used to close these gaps, helping to document informal claims and support more inclusive planning.

Legal reforms, while important, are not sufficient on their own. Institutional capacity, political will, and the ability to enforce rules equitably across different segments of the population are critical for meaningful change. Where institutions are weak or politicized, even well-designed reforms may have limited impact.

Public participation also plays a key role in securing tenure and shaping equitable land use. When communities are involved in decisions about land allocation, zoning, and development priorities, outcomes are more likely to reflect local needs and reduce conflict. Participatory processes help build trust and ensure that urban transformation does not come at the expense of the most vulnerable.

The New Urban Question

The new urban question is not simply about where people will live in the coming decades. It is about who has the right to remain, to build, and to thrive in the city. As megacities grapple with population growth, investment pressures, and environmental challenges, land governance will be a defining factor in whether cities become more inclusive — or more divided.

Tenure security, once treated as a technical issue, is now a central concern for urban policy. It underpins housing stability, social cohesion, and access to opportunity. Without clear, equitable land rights, urban development risks reinforcing existing inequalities and leaving millions behind.

As cities look to the future, the central challenge is not only how to expand — but how to ensure that the benefits of growth are shared. Land, long seen as the backdrop of urban life, is now at the forefront of questions about sustainability, justice, and human development.