Course Modules:

Module 1: Legal Concepts and Foundations in Informal Settlement Regularization

• Defining informality in housing and land rights
• Overview of legal frameworks influencing urban land governance
• Comparative review of land tenure systems (statutory, customary, hybrid)
  Exercise: Classify tenure types in a sample urban settlement
  Case Study: The evolution of land tenure in South African townships

Module 2: Processes and Models of Settlement Regularization

• Stages of regularization: identification, adjudication, registration
• Incremental versus comprehensive regularization models
• Institutional actors and coordination mechanisms
  Workshop: Map a hypothetical regularization pathway
  Case Study: Brazil’s City Statute and favela upgrading program

Module 3: Legal Tools for Land Tenure Security and Housing Rights

• Land titling, occupancy certificates, and use-rights
• Legal protection from forced eviction and relocation protocols
• Instruments to protect women’s and vulnerable groups’ land rights
  Exercise: Draft a sample occupancy certificate
  Case Study: Legal empowerment initiatives in Kibera, Kenya

Module 4: Policy, Regulatory, and Institutional Frameworks

• National housing and land policies supporting regularization
• Urban planning regulations and zoning reforms
• Municipal mandates and land use governance
  Workshop: Review a country’s legal framework and identify gaps
  Case Study: Indonesia’s Kampung Improvement Program

Module 5: Sustaining Regularization: Community Engagement and Monitoring

• Legal literacy and community participation in regularization
• Mechanisms for grievance redress and dispute resolution
• Monitoring and evaluation of regularization outcomes
  Exercise: Design a community education strategy on land rights
  Case Study: Participatory enumeration and mapping in the Philippines