In this issue
	Urban LandMark's research into the delays in issuing title deeds and FinMark Trust's RDP Housing Assets study elicit wide response Urban LandMark and the FinMark Trust recently presented their investigations into the delays in title deeds being issued to the beneficiaries of housing projects funded by the capital subsidy to the national and Western Cape departments of Human Settlements.
	Comparative learning event lays the groundwork for Urban LandMark's Tenure Security Facility Southern Africa 2012 programme funded by Cities Alliance Our October 2011 newsletter focussed on Urban LandMark's work in the region, particularly our recent experiences in Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. We are happy to report that, flowing from our regional activities over the last couple of years, Urban LandMark has started preparatory work on a Cities Alliance-funded Tenure Security Facility Southern Africa 2012 programme, which aims to provide specialist tenure technical assistance and advisory services to slum upgrading initiatives in the region.
	Our investigations into improving access to the city through value capture to be launched in March 2012 - watch this space! Urban LandMark has developed a booklet from a range of research that focuses on the creation, measurement and capture of value from transport interchanges. The booklet looks into the opportunities/obstacles to municipalities' use of value capture instruments and investigates the economics of value creation and value capture to identify the possibility of 'getting ahead of the curve' in securing these sites for more socially orientated development. Our investigations into the most relevant and effective value capture mechanisms for the South African context will be launched in Johannesburg in March 2012.
	Guide for municipal practitioners on governing urban land to be workshopped in South Africa's urban centres in 2012 Urban LandMark recently commissioned a guide dealing with the management of urban land as a guide for municipal practitioners. The purpose of the guide is to illustrate practical ways in which officials working in municipalities can carry out their ordinary functions in a way that enables them to make urban land markets work better for the poor. The guide takes various streams of Urban LandMark work and compiles them into a single resource for municipal practitioners. In early 2012, Urban LandMark will disseminate the guide through a national launch and through workshops with key municipalities.
	Showcasing Urban LandMark's work at the World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty Urban LandMark will present at the annual World Bank Conference on Land and Urban Poverty in April 2012. Our work on a land governance assessment framework for South Africa and our Maputo 'operation of the land market' study fit well with the Conference theme: land governance in a rapidly changing environment.

Urban LandMark's Annual Conference Diarise Urban LandMark's Annual Conference, which will take place from Thursday 12 to Friday 13 April 2012. More info to follow soon.

In the news Green paper consultation on land reform to be completed in March No bond for 83% of households Informal settlements could be our cities of the future State employees now own stakes in top malls in SA