Urban Land Grabs: An Overview of the Issues

In current debates on land and resource grabbing, the question of urban land deserves, but has not attracted, sufficient attention. By the same token, debates on global urbanization and sustainable urban transitions only generally mention land in the side-lines. This chapter places attention on the emerging concept of ‘urban land grab’ and examines the relationship between intensifying urban land acquisitions and the experiences of urban dwellers based on the three major types of land investments observed in cities in the Global South: investments in rural and peri-urban land development and real estate; investments into infrastructure development for climate resilience and sustainability; and investments in building new cities. The chapter presents empirical cases from Khartoum in Sudan, Beira in Mozambique, and Konza New City in Kenya to highlight two key issues pertaining to urban land grabs: the complex alliances between investment actors and the various forms of economic and physical displacement. Solid attention is necessary to address these dynamics and advance the research and policy agendas on urban land grabs.