| dc.description.abstract | This is because land scarcity, increased competition for land and inequitable allocation of land in African cities and the mediation of power, politics, ethnicity and corruption, coupled with inequitable access to land, often contribute to conflicts over land. The thesis explores this reality through the case of Nairobi. Two arguments premise this thesis; one argument posits that urban land conflicts persisting in Africa are largely resulting from land commodification which is not in conformity with existing African land relations. The second argument is that the persistence of urban inequity well beyond colonialism into the present time has produced reinforced inequity in access to and ownership, thereby producing patronage, ethnic and corrupt approaches to land management and allocation processes. These have invariably led land conflicts. As such the study sought to answer one major question that could help establish the links between land scarcity, ethnicity, corruption and conflicts. The question is: what is the relationship between land conflicts and inequity? The thesis aimed to explain the linkage between land commodification processes and inequity, exploring the nature, causes, extent, dimensions and dynamics of land conflicts. It further sought to explore the linkage of the existing institutional arrangements to urban land conflicts. It anticipated the drawing of conclusions on the linkages between land conflicts, land management, commodification, ethnicity, corruption and political patronage and how these linkages contribute to inequity and, subsequently, land conflicts | en |
