There are a number of implications of the informality of land use rules in Mozambican cities. It is difficult to provide services to these areas as there has been construction in roadways and drainage lines and on land reserved for services. There is an increasing tendency for informal settlements to occupy environmentally sensitive areas and, in the larger cities, for relocation of lower income residents from land close to the urban core out to the fringe, though their survival strategies depend on being close to the core. Lower income residents tend to be pushed towards land that is more susceptible to flooding and erosion. There is also declining security of tenure: this discourages residents of informal settlements from investing in their properties, though some residents respond to insecurity by building in more durable materials as they assume this will make it more difficult to remove them. So, although the formal land access process is a barrier, it has been overcome by being ignored. However this leads to widespread unplanned occupation, often in inappropriate locations, which will have long term social, economic and environmental consequences.
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