Land formalization and its efficacy: Experience from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Land formalization is widely promoted as a means of strengthening tenure security and improving land governance in rapidly growing urban areas. Yet, in practice, these interventions can produce new forms of conflict, particularly when implementation is affected by technical flaws, institutional gaps, and limited community participation. This study examines the nature and drivers of land disputes arising from the Kimara Stopover Land Formalization Project in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The research responds to increasing concerns that formalization, rather than resolving uncertainty over land rights, can intensify disputes where structural and procedural weaknesses exist. Using a case study approach, the research draws on household surveys, official land records, and spatial data to explore three core questions: What types of disputes have emerged? How are they distributed across space and time? And what challenges hinder their resolution? Spatial analysis was conducted using GIS to map dispute hotspots, while statistical tools, including the Relative Importance Index (RII) and Pearson correlation, were used to identify key causal factors. The findings reveal that technical errors in surveying—such as overlapping plans and misaligned plot boundaries—are the most persistent sources of conflict, with 68 % of such cases remaining unresolved by the end of 2022. Kapinga Zone emerged as the most conflict-prone area, with a dispute-per-plot ratio of 2.1 per 10 plots, largely driven by boundary encroachments and survey overlaps. In contrast, disputes related to ownership or inheritance were comparatively rare. High costs of formalization and correction processes further discouraged residents from completing titling, with only 17 % of surveyed plots registered by the study's conclusion. Inadequate coordination between planning agencies and low levels of community involvement also contributed to mistrust and resistance. While local mechanisms such as informal mediation and appeals to land tribunals exist, they have had limited success in addressing deeper technical and institutional deficiencies. The research highlights the urgent need for reforms that prioritize technical accuracy, lower entry costs, and build participatory frameworks into formalization processes from the outset. It also proposes new analytical tools—such as dispute-per-plot ratios and weighted challenge rankings—to support data-driven decision-making in urban land governance. The insights from this study offer practical guidance for policymakers and urban planners seeking to manage land conflicts in similar fast-growing contexts across Sub-Saharan Africa.