Equitable Land Use for Asian Infrastructure

Book excerpt: Developing Asia's demand for high-quality, integrated infrastructure requires a steady but equitable supply of land. However, obtaining rights over land can be complicated by hurdles imposed by geography, settlement patterns, conflicting cultures, sociopolitical factors, and land use problems unique to each country. This timely volume identifies policies that can balance the rights and interests of first peoples, informal settlers, and rural landowners against the development imperatives of land procurement for the greater public good. It provides instructive case studies of the state of Asian land registration, eminent domain, and redevelopment in situations of vulnerable communities. The collected chapters also propose and assess some promising models that might be customized to local conditions, such as long-term land leasing with options to buy. This is a companion volume to ADBI Press' pioneering series of titles (all available through Brookings Press)—Infrastructure for a Seamless Asia; Financing Infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific: Capturing Impacts and New Sources; and Principles of Infrastructure: Case Studies and Best Practices. This volume will be of interest to policymakers, practitioners, academics, and students.