Between informal and illegal in the Global North: Planning law, enforcement and justifiable noncompliance

The phenomenon of the construction on or use of land without legal permission is a prevalent reality for most inhabitants of the globe. This is especially true for developing countries (also called the Global South). A burgeoning body of scholarly and practical knowledge about developing countries has enhanced our understanding of how ‘informal’ development (as many call it) of housing, shops, industries and other buildings fulfils essential human needs.¹ Unregulated initiatives can also unleash human ingenuity and creativity, as Turner’s analysis of ‘vernacular architecture’ taught us long ago.² Some scholars have argued that planning and land policy in the advanced-economy