The often violent conflicts that take place in this process, and the measures that can be taken to regulate the land market for the creation of a better urban environment and for providing homes to its less privileged.

This book deals with the history, evolution, and present day realities around who owns land, its legal and illegal acquisition, land-use conversions and development, the actors involved and their relationship with each other and with the public at large, the often violent conflicts that take place in this process and the measures that can be taken to regulate the land market for the creation of a better urban environment and for providing homes to its less privileged.