Guest editorial
| Published date | 03 October 2019 |
| Pages | 169-170 |
| Date | 03 October 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPPEL-10-2019-045 |
| Author | Jill Dickinson |
Guest editorial
Introduction to constructions of property: encompassing people, power and
place
The Annual Socio-Legal Studies Association Conference[1] 2017 saw the launch of a new
Property, People, Powerand Place stream, which I co-convene with my colleagues Professor
Sarah Blandy and Dr Francis Sheridan King. This stream continues to attract papers that
raise interesting debates around both the variety of contexts in which the law seeks to
define, regulate, limit or conceptualise relationships to property, and key concepts of space,
place and inclusivity. Discussions within the stream led to the idea for this specialissue on
Constructions of Property: Encompassing People, Power and Place. These papers
collectively present a range of nationaland international perspectives, which are relevant to
both academics and practitioners. They focus on issues concerning property guardianship,
residential tenancies, land expropriation, human rights issues and registration of land.
Reflecting how the adoption of differentresearch approaches can be “crucially important for
understanding the role of property in society”,[2] the authors collectively explore these
topics through a range of different research approaches, including doctrinal, empirical and
socio-legal.
Against a global backdrop that is characterised by profound technological changes and
land-based, political conflicts, Dr Sarah Keenan raises important questions about land
registration within a global context. In her review of Goymour and others’text: New
Perspectives on Land Registration:Contemporary problems and solutions, Dr Keenan probes
moves to establish legal title through registration rather than via possession and examines
the consequences of automatingland registry systems.
Likewise recognising problems around property ownership and power bases, Dr
Bonnie Holligan focuses on the recent Supreme Court decision in R[on the application of
Mott]v.Environment Agency[3] and the inherent conflict between rights to the
protection of private property under the European Convention on Human Rights and
social and environmental obligations. Dr Holligan uses this case to raise broader
debates, for example around the nature of values that are protected ashuman rights.
In a similar vein, Professor Ning Chai, Rob Stevens and Xiao Fang reveal inter-
stakeholder tensions around property rights, this time in relation to land expropriation in
China. Noting how processes of rapid urbanisation have led to the expropriation of land
from rural farmers, their empirical studyexamines the impacts on local welfare. The paper
advocates for political reformwhich would require governments to give more consideration
to local farmers’welfare and improve the compensation system. In particular, they call for
the introduction of national standards for compensation payments that would be
implemented through locally tailored systems. The paper also makes calls for further
research into thisarea to identify other solutions to the considerable challengesfaced.
The final two papers also focus on residential property issues, but withinthe context of
the UK. First, Dr Jed Meers and Professor Caroline Hunter investigate the emerging
phenomenon of property guardianship through processes of content analysis. Their
examination of advertisements on an online property search engine reveals issues around:
advertisers’inclusion and exclusion of particular types of occupiers; wider contexts of
occupation; underpinning legal agreements; and differences in approach by residential
landlords, letting agents, student accommodation providers and property guardian
companies. Second, Dr Emily Walsh specifically considers the increasing popularity of the
Guest editorial
169
Journalof Property, Planning and
EnvironmentalLaw
Vol.11 No. 3, 2019
pp. 169-170
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2514-9407
DOI 10.1108/JPPEL-10-2019-045
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