The Urban Land Paper Series - Volume 2

The papers in this volume take a city perspective and provide both a critical reflection of and a pragmatic response to what cities are able to do given their current mandate and powers. The first paper begins by considering what the TOD agenda means for the urban poor. It questions whether TOD can adequately address the existing land challenges in South African cities, given the politics of land inequality and the skewed property markets. The next paper explores land ownership patterns along one of the TOD corridors in Johannesburg to understand how land ownership could potentially shape development and spatial transformation. What emerges is an interesting perspective that highlights how, compared to the private sector, the public sector has probably not been an effective player in the land game of extracting value.