Abstract

Competing land uses has increased tremendously within time and space and now represents a key issue to be addressed. The inability of city authorities to plan effectively as well as enforce urban planning and land laws have given rise to haphazard development of settlements and the proliferation of land use conflicts. This introduces significant planning exigencies in terms of policy orientation and practice.

Therefore, the question of conflicting land use activities is not marginal to urban planning and development but it is at its very heart. The purpose of this study is to examine land use conflicts and their planning implications in the Kumbo urban space. The study establishes the factors that have led to the development of competing land uses, and urban planning implication. The study adopted a mixed method approach that is qualitative and quantitative, using several research data collection methods questionnaires administration, interviews with key informants and observations. Stratified and simple random sampling approaches were adopted targeting two hundred and seventy respondents.

The data were analyzed using statistical software SPSS 1SEVEN, ARCGIS nine. 3. The data was treated through referential and descriptive analysis and this paved way for hypothesis test, findings revealed that increased population over the years and poor implementation of planning policy and informal land use activities were the major causes that led to competing land use activities. In addition to insufficient sensitization of urban dwellers on town planning laws, illiteracy, poor zonation, coupled with bribery and corruption were responsible for growing land use conflicts.

Other implications of future planning noted are the risk for demolition, poor service delivery, high development and planning cost.

The study has proposed some recommendations to the local authorities, respective delegations and developers in a bit to curb prevailing land use conflicts and its impacts on the planning of the Kumbo urban space, Cameroon. Finally, the study suggests that further study be undertaken to determine how land use activities can act as an essential tool in measuring the planning of developing towns in Cameroon.

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