While Chap. 1 discussed urban development and private capital at a broader and theoretical perspective, this chapter emphasises the empirical side of the debate, demonstrating how private entities entered the urban land market in Zimbabwe and Ruwa for the first time. An assessment of the rise of private land developers (PLDCs) and the emergence of Ruwa Town is the main focus of this chapter. It shows that Ruwa and PLDCs cannot be understood in isolation of the broad Zimbabwean urban history. The emergence of Ruwa and PLDCs was influenced by changes in the political, economic, and social environment of Zimbabwe’s urban landscape from the pre-colonial to the post-colonial period. The chapter demonstrates that the post-independence era provided fertile ground for the emergence of Ruwa in a period when colonial racial segregationist laws which restricted people’s movement in urban areas were repealed. The repeal of laws like the Native Registration Act of 1936, the Native Passes Act (1937), the African Urban Areas Accommodation and Registration Act (1946), the Vagrancy Act (1960), and the Land Tenure Act of 1969 led to an influx of people into urban areas and resulted in the high demand for urban land and infrastructure. The chapter illustrates how the post-colonial government came up with the growth point policy, which in turn encouraged the urbanisation of formerly rural settlements like Ruwa. The rapid growth of Ruwa was catalysed by the attainment of growth point status in 1986 prior to the development of the area into an urban centre in 1990.