Challenges of Regularisation of Informal Settlements in South-East Europe
Overview of the relevant urban planning and legalization laws and practice
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This report addresses an issue of central importance to the social, economic and institutional
development of local governments in south-east Europe, as represented through
their associations by the Network of Associations of Local Authorities in South-East Europe
(NALAS). All thirteen entities have diverse backgrounds in terms of economic management
and political structure. Almost all are currently at different stages of a major socioeconomic
transition which imposes new challenges for all sectors of economic management.
No sector is more directly affected by these changes than urban development and
management, given the key role played by urban centres in national development. This,
together with a common goal of integrating into the European Union, has motivated the
preparation of this Study.
Rapid urban growth has generated a dramatic increase in the need for land, services, credit
and livelihood opportunities. Understandably, local governments have found it difficult to
keep pace with the complexity and scale of these needs. As a result, people have resorted
to self-help and various types of informal settlements have emerged in all the countries as
observed by the local government associations that participated in the Study.
The focus of the Study is on the most common form of informal settlement, namely large,
peri-urban residential settlements, consisting of individual family houses, mainly built on
privately owned agricultural land around big cities. Other issues, such as the integration of
Roma or other special needs groups, are not addressed directly, though by helping to remove
obstacles to sustainable urban development, it is hoped that all social groups will benefit.
The integration of informal settlements into the formal land and property market inevitably
places the spotlight of the report on legal issues, although planning and building
standards and regulations, together with administrative procedures for processing development
applications, are addressed briefly.
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