Abstract

Land that has legacies of tenure reforms offers scope for studying its relationship with contemporary dynamic land markets and increasing urban influence. This article seeks to locate the association of interventions in land tenure with the increasing urban influence and spurt in land markets of Kerala, an India state renowned for land reforms. Based on review, analysis of interventions initiated in Kerala is attempted to understand the changes in tenure and its impact on land markets and urban form. The role of the land reforms in distributing scores of title deeds by way of abolishing tenancy as well as hutment land were seminal in increasing the land ownership, but also contributed to activating land markets and rural–urban transformation. Results also indicate that in the absence of periodic introduction of proper land governance structures, land markets can also lead to imperfections and distortions.