Freeze-framing territory: time and its significance in land governance |
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Authors: | David Fisher |
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Institution: | Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto, 100 St George Street, Room 5047, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3G3 |
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Abstract: | This paper explores how temporal symbolism is used to construct land as an object of enduring value. Using anthropological and ethnographic sources, I highlight how different practices of landholding are informed by different understandings of “permanence”. I elaborate on how institutions of landholding employ “temporal signposts” to mark out land allocation and access arrangements over time. In conclusion, I explore the political roles of inter-temporal land governance, positing a link between codified “permanences” of landholding in land laws and the entrenchment of socio-spatial power. I suggest that the temporal dimension of land governance demands interrogation alongside the spatial. |
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Keywords: | land territory tenure time law |
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