LAW AND URBAN-DEVELOPMENT - IMPEDIMENTS TO REFORM

The role of law in advancing sustainable development is highlighted by the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. There is less agr eement on the specifics of law reform or the pre-conditions for bringi ng it about. Using the issue of urban land reform as an example, the p re-conditions for a successful programme of law reform are discussed. Law reform cannot be divorced from the wider issues of good governance , the socio-economic make-up or the politics of the society in questio n, nor can it be seen as a quick fix. Neither law nor land reform is o n its own a sufficient response to inequitable national and global eco nomic policies.