A pathway to urban sustainability: Understanding the challenges of unpopulated allocated residential lands in Oman

The right to adequate housing is recognized as fundamental human right as per the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is globally agreed that access to land is the core foundation for realizing the right to housing. However, policies related to access-to-land right has varied between different countries resulting in multiple urban challenges. Several oil-rich countries, such as Oman, address access-to-land right by means of land-allocation. In Oman, lottery system is used whereby citizens participate to get a residential plot form the government for minimum fees. This particular policy has resulted in a large number of land plots being unbuilt, which in turn resulted in fragmentation in cities. To address this issue a facilitated interactive focus group study, based on the social constructivism paradigm, was conducted in Oman aiming at identifying the factors that influence individuals' decision to build on the allocated land. The study concludes by identifying obstacles that prevent citizens from making building decision after receiving the land, which are in order of their significance: Need, Financial Capability, Location, Services and Neighborhood Quality. This will provide evidence-based guidelines for policy makers to overcome this challenge and achieve better urban sustainability aligned with the country's 2040 vision.