Informal land market mechanisms for accessing and securing land for housing development: the case of peri-urban areas of Woldia Township, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study focused on mechanisms of accessing and securing peri-urban land through informal land markets. The survey employed purposive sampling to select government officials, key informants and focus group discussion (FGD) participants; accidental sampling for Informal/traditional institutions representatives; snowball sampling for land brokers and speculators; and simple random sampling for peri-urban respondents. Some respondents, particularly housing developers and/or homeowners in informal settlements, construct properties for purposes such as rental income, landholding under split family arrangements, or eventual sale. The study integrates theoretical and empirical analyses of informal urban development practices. Theoretically, the land is not subject to sale or transfer against the land law. Thus, from the theoretical perspective of land laws, private sales and transfers are not permitted, and hence, should not happen. This makes sense in theory, but in reality, the system is more permeable. The empirical findings of the study revealed that land transfer outside the realm of the law is very common and widespread. Currently, informal settlements in peri-urban areas of Woldia are getting key features of the town. Farmers often justify fraudulent land sales by claiming they have donated, inherited, or transferred the land within family arrangements. Hence, despite its different geographical scope, the empirical findings in peri-urban areas of Woldia can provide insight into how informal land markets can contribute to broader comparative studies on informal settlements and land markets in other peri-urban areas within Ethiopia or similar contexts globally. Additionally, the study contributes to understanding how peri-urban farming can coexist with urban expansion.