"Expansion and development of urban areas require acquisition of land, which, in turn, often requires physical relocation of people who own or occupy this land. Land acquisition and resettlement may also be required to improve the lives of the more than 1 billion people who currently live in slums around the world, most of them in developing countries. Therefore, any effort to embark on significant, sustainable urban development needs to ensure that there are adequate processes for land acquisition and, so that resettlement does not become a constraint to much needed urban development.
Planners, policy makers and social scientists can try to implement urban development programs in a way that make people who lose their land, houses or livelihoods become equal partners in the development process. The combination of the high price of urban land, presence of creative individuals in close proximity in urban areas, and the ability of urban space to generate innovative solutions, can help
