What is it about?
This article investigates Waqf land, a particular type of land tenure which is present in Indonesia in urban informal settlements. The analysis draws on principles of responsible land management and focuses on the specific case of Waqf land owned by the Kauman Grand Mosque in Semarang City, Indonesia. The findings indicate that the management of Waqf land in the study area changed and improved over time, evolving from an informal to a more formal structure. The study concludes that despite being an unconventional form of land management, the Waqf land tenure regime appears to secure informal types of urban tenure, especially in areas with limited land availability.
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Why is it important?
There is not a single type of land tenure. A specific type is Waqf land. It is iportant to investigate how this type is managed and what the pros and cons are of this type of land management. This article uses the 8R framework to assess to which extent Waqf land is responsible, especially in areas with many informal settlements. The major challenge facing big cities in developing nations is allocating residential land to the urban poor, given the constraints on land availability. The Waqf land institution supports strong and cooperative relationships within the community.
Perspectives
Using the 8R framework of responsible land management is useful to assess different types of land management practices and choices. This study demonstrates that certain aspects of this framework score high for Waqf land tenure choices, whereas others score low. From this assessment one can develop strategies to address the problems and benefit from opportunities arising from the land tenure choices.
Professor Walter Timo de Vries
Technical University of Munich
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Tenure Security and Responsible Land Management of Urban Informal Settlements on Waqf Land in Semarang City, Indonesia, Land, June 2025, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/land14071365.
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