Urban planners are entrusted with the power to make critically important, long-term decisions that determine the future development of cities and towns around the world. The decisions they take shape the urban environment and directly affect the lives and livelihoods of entire communities.

The land rush has remained, and is likely to remain, a significant global phenomenon despite waning international media attention. The scope of the phenomenon is likely to be wider than previously thought.

This publication serves as an introduction to a collection of articles published in the African Studies Review. It discusses the implications of as well as the question through what actors, processes, and relationships land deals become stalled or partially implemented. The reviewed articles draw on long-term, in-depth ethnographic research of land deals in Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia.