Secure land and property rights for all are essential to reducing poverty because they underpin economic development and social inclusion. Secure land tenure and property rights enable people in urban and rural areas to invest in improved homes and livelihoods. Although many countries have completely restructured their legal and regulatory framework related to land and they have tried to harmonize modern statutory law with customary ones, millions of people around the world still have insecure land tenure and property rights.

Anambra, with its population of over 4 million people in 2006, is the second most urbanized states in the country, having 62% of its total population living in urban areas. Unfortunately, past Governments since creation of the State in 1991 have failed to adopt city development strategies for the many fast growing cities in the State to cope with rapid urbanization.

The goals of the structure plans are towards achieving environmental sustainability in the context of achieving State and Local Economic Development Strategies, Millennium Development Goals and Habitat Agenda, orderly and healthy development, the contributions of cities to sustained economic growth, poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods, good governance and gender empowerment.

The Habitat Country Programme Document for Nigeria outlines the main objectives and priorities for UN-HABITAT. In collaboration with the government and other United Nations Agencies, the overall aim of this UN-HABITAT Country Programme Document is to promote the Habitat Agenda. UN-HABITAT plays an active role in urban development and urban policy.

The development of realistic structure plans for Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, and the surrounding towns. This cooperation was borne out of the need to adopt development strategies for the provision of basic socio-economic and physical infrastructure in fast-growing, unplanned cities to attain sustainable human settlement development. Onitsha, the focus of the structure plan, is the most populous and rapidly expanding commercial and educational centre in Anambra State.