MetRe
Methods to study social Regulations
Rights to land and urban resources
Methods to study social Regulations
Rights to land and urban resources
Urbanisation in low-income countries is one of today's global challenges: managing rapid urbanisation with the right policies is key to tackling urban poverty, inequality and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Rapid urbanisation means that cities are densifying and expanding into their peri-urban hinterlands at an unprecedented pace, while governments struggle to plan and provide urban services at scale. As a result, residents settle in unplanned areas, where land, housing and infrastructure are accessed and regulated through hybrid regulatory systems, transcending social norms, customary law and state law. However, the ways in which de facto rights work for residents remains a mystery to researchers and policy makers, resulting in inadequate policy approaches. What are the strengths and weaknesses, diversity and adaptability of these social norms in different countries, cities and settlements? What are the policy needs and priorities in diverse contexts? The MetRe project develops and applies new methodologies to answer these questions and develop tailor-made policy responses by measuring the social regulation of land and other urban resources on the ground. Interdisciplinary collaborations and co-design initiatives with local stakeholders are the foundations of MetRe: we welcome expressions of interest to collaborate in research, training or dissemination.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
NEWS
This webinar presents key insights from the METRE project, which undertakes a systematic and critical review of leading land governance measurement frameworks worldwide. The event brings together academic researchers and practitioners to reflect on current approaches, methodological innovations, and persisting challenges.
Speakers: Dr. Martina Manara (University College London), Regina Orvañanos (ex-UN-Habitat – GLII), Malcolm Childress (Prindex / Land Alliance), Dr. Heather Huntington (DevLab@Penn / USAid), Christina Seybolt (DevLab@Penn / MCC), Dr Caitlin Kieran (Landesa), and Prof. Cheryl Doss (Tufts University).
Online event : 21st May; 3:00pm – 5:30pm (BST)
Register here
On Tuesday, September 30, 2025 we met at the University of Ghana Legon to carry out a workshop on ‘Ubanisation and urban transition’ with scholars from several local Universities. During the workshop, Martina Manara presented the MetRe project, focusing on the upcoming implementation of stage 2 in Accra and scoping interest for future research collaborations.
Read our blog post about the event!
On Thursday, September 11, 2025 the team will present the methodological work of MetRe 2 at the Annual Conference of the World Interdisciplinary Network of Institutional Research. The presentation will contribute to a panel on ‘Water, Law, and Institutional Innovation: Governance Challenges Across Regions’.
With the support of: