The churn of the land nexus and contrasting gentrification processes in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, Tanzania

Abstract

This article contrasts gentrification and related processes of displacement across two of Tanzania’s fastest-growing cities. Some groups are particularly vulnerable to gentrification, with smallholder farmers particularly vulnerable on the periphery, and tenants particularly vulnerable near the centre. In the cities’ newly urbanizing peripheries, many of the longest-standing residents from farming families sell their land to upwardly mobile newcomers moving out from the city centre. In inner-city informal settlements, populations have become far denser and tenants outnumber owners, whilst developers and other large formal-sector land users are potentially interested in securing the land for upmarket residential or non-residential uses. Bringing the planning system and the informal settlements into better alignment is important, but regularization efforts can unnecessarily amplify the risks of exclusionary gentrification. While better-organized communities should be able to mitigate these risks, for this to be achieved the most vulnerable groups need to be adequately represented.