ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the important place land has in housing the urban poor. It provides a discussion of the land tenure in Africa and an overview of the traditional, political and socio-economic influences on land tenure. The chapter focuses on sub-Saharan Africa because the influence of Islam on land tenure relations in the north of the continent introduced an important dimension. Governments in Africa have made attempts to influence the ownership structures to bring them in line with the dictates of the modern economic and social conditions they find themselves in. It is apparent from the foregoing that African governments have a tremendous influence on landownership structures and hence could make substantial amounts of land available for housing. The chapter discusses some policy options which could enable African governments to make land available to the urban poor for their housing, at prices they could afford.
