A technical solution for 3D crowdsourced cadastral surveys

The development of 3D property registration systems is indispensable for the spatial determination of property Rights, Restrictions and Responsibilities (RRR), the sustainable operation of property markets and the safeguarding of ownership in the highly urbanized world. Several developments in computer graphics, 3D modelling and rendering techniques have attracted the growing global interest in 3D cadastre. Since 2012, the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM ISO 19152) is adopted as the international standard for 2D and 3D cadastral data modelling. Developed legal procedures and prototype systems for 3D property rights registration provide interesting solutions for data acquisition and visualization but such approaches are time and cost demanding. In parallel, 2D cadastral surveying procedures have progressed significantly in reducing required time and cost, utilizing crowdsourcing methodology and mobile services.This paper presents a technical solution under development, aiming to provide the beginning for a new era in the initial acquisition, registration and representation of 3D crowdsourced cadastral data, appropriate for both the developed and the developing world. The proposed solution consists of two complementary parts, the technical framework and the crowdsourced methodology to be followed. The technical framework consists of two interconnected parts, the server-side and the client-side. The server-side refers to the Database Management System (DBMS) where the collected data are stored. The client-side refers to the data capturing tool, which in this case is the mobile device. For the server-side, a prototype system based on model driven architecture practices and LADM is developed; while for the client-side, an open-source mobile application for the acquisition of 3D crowdsourced cadastral data, 3D modelling and visualization of 3D property units as block models (LoD1) on a mobile’s phone screen in real-time, is developed.This research is focused on investigating technical aspects for capturing and integrating data about legal rights on physical objects. Detailed investigation of legal issues is not within the objectives of this research. Two case-studies for testing the proposed technical solution are made. An assessment of the current stage of development of the technical solution is presented. The main conclusions converge that the proposed technical solution has huge potentials for the fast, economic implementation of 3D cadastral surveys as it can produce an accurate and reliable 3D information model, depending on the accuracy of the available basemaps. The developed application is easy-to-use as users may not have the necessary level of 3D modelling skills in order to contribute to the registration procedure.     

LADM-based modeling of the unified registration of immovable property in China

In China, the types of immovable property objects cover not only land (a typical immovable property object) but also buildings, sea areas, forests, etc., and the general idea of unified registration of immovables (as the newest development and hottest topic in field of land administration in China) proposed by Property Law of the People’s Republic of China (2007) is not detailed until 2014 when “Interim Regulations on Real Estate Registration” was enacted and would come into force in 2015. This paper focuses on modeling of unified registration of immovables in China whose cores rely on “4 unifications” (i.e., unification of registering basis, unification of registering authorities, unification of information management platform, unification of registering books) using the world-wide advanced standard LADM (Land Administration Domain Model). In detail, the typical 8 immovable property rights (right to use construction land/forest land/sea area, ownership of houses/forests/marine structures, right to contractual management of arable land/grass land) are firstly introduced; then change of register types before and after unified registration (as one important component of “unification of registering basis”) is described; later, comparison of register procedures reflecting “unification of authorities”, “unification of information management platform” and “unification of registering books” is modeled using LADM where parties, 3R, spatial units package are greatly referenced which is followed by elaboration of a newly proposed URDMIPO (Unified Registration Data Model for Immovable Property Object). However, the complete implementation of unified registration in China will still take a long time.     

Towards integration of 3D legal and physical objects in cadastral data models

Digital 3D cadastres are often envisaged as the visualisation of 3D property rights (legal objects) and to some extent, their physical counterparts (physical objects) such as buildings and utility networks on, above and under the surface. They facilitate registration and management of 3D properties and reduction of boundary disputes. They also enable a wide variety of applications that in turn identify detailed and integrated 3D legal and physical objects for property management and city space management (3D land use management).Efficient delivery and implementation of these applications require many elements to support a digital 3D cadastre, such as existing 3D property registration laws, appropriate 3D data acquisition methods, 3D spatial database management systems, and functional 3D visualisation platforms. In addition, an appropriate 3D cadastral data model can also play a key role to ensure successful development of the 3D cadastre.A 3D cadastral data model needs to reflect the complexity and interrelations of 3D legal objects and their physical counterparts. Many jurisdictions have defined their own cadastral data models for legal purposes and have neglected the third dimension, integration of physical counterparts and semantic aspects.To address these problems, this paper aims to investigate why existing cadastral data models do not facilitate effective representation and analysis of 3D data, integration of 3D legal objects with their physical counterparts, and semantics. Then, a 3D cadastral data model (3DCDM) is proposed as a solution to improve the current cadastral data models. The data model is developed based on the ISO standards. UML modelling language is used to specify the data model. The results of this research can be used by cadastral data modellers to improve existing or develop new cadastral data models to support the requirements of 3D cadastres.     

Development of process model for Serbian cadastre

Identifying the processes in the cadastre enables understanding the principles on which the cadastre works. Processes in cadastre define the way how the cadastre manages information and what are the prerequisites for the data to be stored in the appropriate data structure. In order to explicitly specify cadastral procedures and workflows to support their automatization, we developed a process model for Serbian cadastre. The main reason for developing the process model is to ensure the framework which will provide possible integration and interoperability with other systems outside traditional cadastral system and between cadastral subsystems themselves. The process model is based on hierarchical decomposition of two basic groups of processes: processes for changing cadastral data and processes for displaying cadastral data. Each group of processes is further decomposed step by step until the workflow of a single process is shown. The developed process model is an abstract model, i.e. it is independent of the implementation. However, in order to instantiate such process model, it is necessary to provide binding of the abstract process model to its underlying implementation. Cadastral registration of spatial units may be beneficial for activities that relay on land administration, such as taxation, spatial planning, obtaining a building permit or legalization of buildings. This relation to the processes under jurisdiction of other organizations justifies the use of cadastral process model and its implementation into SOA environment. Traditionally, cadastral processes include alphanumeric data and 2D spatial data on cadastral maps that contain 2D borders of parcels and buildings. However, recent advancements in 3D technology bring the opportunity to enhance such processes with 3D information. In particular, the aim is to extend current 2D process model to support data maintenance and transactions in the upgrade towards 3D cadastre. Therefore, these 3D data supported workflows are introduced to the process model. For the processes that include 3D information the choice has to be made which specifications will be used and how representations of 3D spatial units will be resolved. In this paper, we first develop an abstract process model of Serbian cadastre. After that, we extend the process model to include 3D information, discuss the options for using the encodings of 3D spatial units (legal spaces) and select buildingSMART openBIM IFC standard for this purpose.     

Developing a new framework based on solid models for 3D cadastres

3D cadastres aim to record, manage, and visualise spatial dimensions of volumetric legal objects in a 3D digital information environment. Definition of the geometry and topology of volumetric representations of legal objects is predicated on solid modelling approaches which are widely used in 3D modelling applications. Some solid modelling approaches are more user friendly for constructing legal objects while others enable the creation of 3D legal objects with a higher level of spatial complexity. This study aims to assess the capabilities of solid models in managing the geometry and topology of 3D legal objects with various spatial complexities. The assessment was conducted based on identification of the fundamental principles for defining geometry and topology in 3D cadastres. Various 3D legal objects with different geometric shapes were examined according to the topological principles for ensuring both internal and external validity of 3D legal objects. The identified geometric and topological principles were used to propose a new framework based on solid modelling for 3D cadastres. Our suggested framework would provide the basis for modifying land subdivision policies to adopt solid models in upgrading current cadastral systems into 3D digital environments.     

The Land Administration Domain Model – A literature survey

The international standard for land administration, LADM, ISO 19152, has been the subject of numerous research activities during the last one and a half decade, with topics ranging from technical implementation issues and the registration of real property to legal and organisational aspects. However, some areas have been more researched than others.The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the research as evidenced by research publications 2001–2015 to discuss the distribution of interest areas within LADM research.In total 184 publications on LADM have been analysed in the study. The result shows that technical and real property registration issues have been in focus throughout the surveyed period, whereas there has been less focus on research on legal and organisational matters. There has, however, in recent years been an slight increase in legal research, whereas research on organisational matters, such as efficiency and how to organise and manage interests in land and the benefits and costs for implementing the standard, still is lacking in comparison with the other investigated fields of research, and should be an important area to research now during the implementation phase of LADM.     

Developing a spatial planning information package in ISO 19152 land administration domain model

Cities establish and maintain Land Administration Systems (LAS) to manage information about the land and urban space. Recognizing the importance of the urban space for sustainable development, information from spatial planning will affect land administration and vice versa. Therefore, every aspect that influences land use, both from spatial planning and land administration should be identified, documented, and standardized as they contain legally binding rules for governments and citizens. The Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), ISO standard 19152:2012, offers guidelines to ensure interoperability in the representation of Rights, Restrictions, and Responsibilities (RRRs). LADM is also capable of standardizing multi-dimensional representation, including the temporal capability for documenting and visualizing all legal aspects of land use or space. This paper discusses how to construct interoperable information between the spatial plan and land administration. We present the standardization of spatial planning information and land administration as subsets of land-related information. The paper proposes the development of a spatial planning package within the existing LADM standard.     

The impact of flood dynamics on property values

There is evidence that environmental amenities and dis-amenities may be nonlinearly related to property valuation. This would bring inconsistency in estimating environmental variables of the hedonic price model. To explore the linearity of the relationship this study analyses spatial and temporal variation impacts of the 2011 Brisbane flood on property markets using semi-parametric estimation. The results show that most environmental variables impacts on property values nonlinearly, and in particularly distance to the river, indicating that the amenity value of being close to a river outweighs the flood risks. The estimation of the combined impact of elapsed time and neighbourhood income indicates that the flood risk impact on property markets disappears over time.     

Development of 3D underground cadastral data model in Korea: Based on land administration domain model

Underground space is being considered as a sustainable development resource, especially in heavily urbanized areas such as Seoul, in Korea. However, regarding 3D underground property, uncertainties and gaps exist between cadastral system and real property registration system. In Korea, cadastral system is able to deal with only 2D surface parcel, on the contrary, real property registration system is able to register and manage legal status of 3D underground properties. The mismatch between these two systems causes various types of problems for underground properties such as a vertical boundary disputes between aboveground and underground ownerships, administrative confusion and dual-compensation problems for new underground construction, reconstruction and haphazard development for underground space due to the lack of systematic registration procedure. In order to overcome these problems, this research proposes a 3D underground cadastral data model, which is associated and integrated with classes in ISO 19152 Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) developed by the Technical Committee 211 of the International Organization for Standardization. The proposed 3D underground cadastral data model comprises two packages: 3D underground parcel package, and 3D underground surveying and mapping package. It would support a better service for land administration by providing reliable and accurate spatial information on 3D underground property. In order to validate the proposed 3D underground cadastral data model, the prototype is developed and implemented in real-world situation for the first time. The proposed 3D underground cadastral data model can register various types of 3D underground properties including architectures such as shopping mall, public walkway, parking lot, and etc., and civil infrastructures such as subway, road, water supply, sewage, common utility tunnel, and etc. The results show that the proposed 3D underground cadastral data model could be applicable for other information system such as land valuation and taxation system, urban planning system, construction and facility management system.     

Initial 3D cadastre registration by cadastral resurvey in the Republic of Croatia

2D Land cadastre on the present territory of the Republic of Croatia has been continuously developed in the last 200 years. Throughout the years, survey methods, needs and purposes of cadastre have changed. This resulted in a variety of cadastral data with different accuracy and completeness. Today, we can collect an enormous amount of data and the need for cadastral data has never been greater. We need to find feasible solutions to make the initial acquisition of 3D cadastral data which would satisfy the needs of stakeholders involved in Land Administration System (LAS).This paper will present a historical background of the cadastral data acquisition which would help to understand circumstances on how this variety of available cadastral data has been produced and the data available nowadays. Based on the historical overview and the overview of the current state, we will upgrade the data model of a LAS used in Croatia to support the implementation of a 3D cadastre. The model will include its static components but also proposed improvements of cadastral resurvey related processes. The Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), which in 2012 became the ISO 19,152 standard, will be used as the formal basis.This paper offers a proposal for cadastral resurvey improvements, better registration of public rights and registration of separate parts of real properties. It will identify and explore critical points and make recommendations to bring Real Property Cadastre closer to a real 3D register.     

LADM-based profile for farmland Tripartite Entitlement System in China

Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has undergone a promotion of industrialisation, urbanisation and agricultural modernisation. This promotion has triggered the mass migration of rural labour forces into cities, leading to the virtual situation of the separation of farmland contract and operation rights. To respond to this issue, the central government proposed a strategy of farmland reform in China. Such reform aims to transform the former ‘Bipartite Entitlement System’ into a ‘Tripartite Entitlement System (TES)’.¹ Land registration provides the means for recognising formalised property rights and regulating the characteristics and transfer of land-related rights. As for farmland registration in China, it serves as a basis to explore effective forms of collective farmland ownership by implementing collective farmland ownership, stabilising farmers’ contract rights and liberalising farmland operation rights. Thus, in this study, on the basis of the farmland tripartite entitlement (hereinafter referred to as ‘FTE’) reform in China, we develop a Land Administration Domain Model (LADM)-based TES model that will serve as the basis of subsequent system development. Specifically, first, we summarise the evolution process of China’s farmland rights system since the foundation of new China. Second, we propose a farmland rights system after the FTE reform. Then, the corresponding TES model is developed based on the LADM standard and some instance-level diagrams for farmland administration activities. The new functionality of the model includes improved structuring of farmland rights and restrictions (and related source documents) and improved expansion of the land information infrastructure to rural areas.     

Application of LADM for disaster prone areas and communities

Disaster prevention, response and recovery require information about land tenure. Though, in many high-risk contexts, such records are non-existent or not up to date. As a result, vulnerable groups are often passed over by the government during risk management activities. At present there exists no dedicated tool for supporting land tenure recordation of all people-to-land relationships for the purposes of disaster risk management. More specifically, the required supportive data models and standards that could enable integration of concepts from the respective domains of land administration and disaster risk management are also lacking. Standardized data models could support software and service designs. This paper introduces a model linking the domains of land administration and disaster risk management – with the goal of supporting resilience against natural disasters and providing an approach for collecting data once, and using it multiple times. A design approach was used to develop the model – with adaption of the international Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) standard acting as a basis. Key features of the model include the support of interoperability through standardisation, the inclusion of all people-to-land relationships including those specific to disaster contexts, and the potential of the model to contribute to each of the disaster phases. The model is suggested to be highly applicable in natural disaster contexts where no land tenure information exists or the national mapping authority already uses a land administration system compatible with LADM. Overall, the model is considered as a step toward an implementable strategy for applying responsible land administration in the context of disaster risk management.     

Hedonic Valuation in an Urban High‐Rise Housing Market

This study estimates the effect of spatial heterogeneity and housing‐unit attributes on the value of apartment housing in a densely urban Chinese housing market. This paper contributes to the literature in two ways. First, high‐rise housing complexes present complications in that the vertical dimension is important in purchase decisions—yet the spatial econometric literature has focused exclusively on two dimensions. We introduce a three‐dimensional (3‐D) spatial weights matrix to capture the potential for “within project” correlation among housing units located on different floors within a project. Second, a significant proportion of the world's population lives in urban high‐rise buildings but the literature has, for the most part, completely ignored such markets. Test statistics support the use of a 3‐D weight matrix; our application of the hedonic methodology to a dense, vertical housing market shows that it can be used to value amenities located within or adjacent to housing complex amenities. In our empirical example, though, we observe little difference in marginal valuation of amenities under a 3‐D weight matrix relative to a standard 2‐D weight matrix.     

Reasons for introducing 3D property in a legal system—Illustrated by the Swedish case

The use of three-dimensional (3D) property rights has for many years been a tool for providing secure and lasting rights for the use of land and its volume of space in complex situations involving land use in the urban society. The aim of this article is to investigate the reasons for introducing 3D property in a legal system. This is illustrated by using the Swedish system as an example. In general, without the possibility of forming 3D property units with direct ownership, other forms have to be used, such as indirect ownership or granted user rights. Benefits of ownership in comparison with different types of rights include a more secure way of guaranteeing the possession of real property and the possibility of mortgaging the property. There are lower transaction costs compared with user rights, arising from legally securing three-dimensionally delimited parts of real property. 3D property also enables an increase in the density of private ownership. 3D property is a useful way of solving problems related to the use of space by different parties with different needs. In the Swedish legislation the introduction of 3D property formation has increased the possibility of constructing and financing in particular large and more complex facilities. It has created more secure and clear ways of constructing infrastructure objects and separating them from other types of use within the space of the same traditional property.     

Manure Applications and Nutrient Standards

Because of environmental concerns, many states are regulating animal manure applications to crops. A conceptual model is presented to describe manure demand for crop nutrient application under alternative regulatory standards. Demand relationships are incorporated into a spatial equilibrium model to estimate welfare costs of phosphorus and nitrogen regulatory standards for manure applications. Model estimates for Virginia indicate that regulatory standards for manure application achieve large reductions in excess nitrogen and phosphorus and result in 5–15% welfare losses excluding nonmarket environmental valuation.     

林权流转程序中的审批问题研究——以地方性法规、规章为对象

林权流转是林业产权确权后解决林地规模经营的必然举措。在林权流转中程序是保证林权流转规范运行的重要手段。林权流转程序包含审批、备案、森林资源评估、林权证的发放和变更登记等多项内容。文章以若干地方性法规和地方政府规章为研究对象,对其中的林权流转审批事项进行梳理,分析审批的性质和效力,提出规范林权流转程序的建议。     

A geometric and semantic evaluation of 3D data sourcing methods for land and property information

Urbanisation, the development of high-rise apartments and the advent of complex building structures creates unique challenges that cannot be met by 2D land and property information. These include inter-related titles and complex plans relating to (i) the land parcel and (ii) the building, both internal (indoor plans) and external attributes (roof and façade). Incorporating the third dimension into the land development cycle can potentially address such challenges by providing data that describes both the land parcel and building in 3D. This move towards 3D data administration requires the development of new 3D data processes, including 3D data sourcing, which forms the focus of this research. Following an examination of current 2D methods in land and property information registration, a framework of the requirements for sourcing 3D land and property information is suggested and potential methods are discussed. Focussing on the geometric and semantic components an evaluation of the methods is developed and applied. The results highlight methods based on photogrammetry, laser scanning, mobile mapping, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) to source integrated 3D information for both the internal and external attributes of a building and corresponding land parcel.     

Generic land registry and cadastre data model supporting interoperability based on international standards for Turkey

Managing land information effectively is a key factor in achieving successful land administration and sustainable land development. To manage land, each government has a land policy and administration system. A land administration system (LAS) enables identification, registration and sharing of information about land in compliance with land policies by using information technologies effectively. In this context, land information systems (LISs) are designed to fulfill the requirements related to land, to provide tenure assurance and to manage natural resources sustainably. In Turkey, the necessity of information technologies and geographic information systems (GIS) was recognised by public institutions in the early 1990s. The Land Registry and Cadastre Information System Project (TAKBIS in Turkish) started to manage land registry and cadastre data and processes throughout Turkey. By using a standard framework, the project aimed to digitise land registry and cadastre data and to perform all activities and queries in a digital environment. However, the project did not reach the expected level of success because the data infrastructure was not standardised and did not meet the data requirements of other stakeholders at the national and international level.On the other hand, studies of a new e-government project called Turkish National GIS (TUCBS in Turkish) was initiated to establish a national geographic data infrastructure (GDI) which allows efficient management of geographic data and corresponds to national-level user requirements and Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) specifications. In this study, to provide data interoperability among different institutions and meet stakeholder needs, the data model of the Land Registry and Cadastre Data Theme is examined and improved. Within the design process, the ISO 19152 Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) and INSPIRE Cadastral Parcels are examined and applied as the baseline international standards. In addition, main land and land group parcel types in the Turkish cadastral system, the main rights, restrictions and responsibilities related to land in the Turkish registration system, mortgages established over rights, cadastral maps, standard subdivision of two-dimensional (2D) space with special names, surveyed point and monumentation types were explained briefly within the revised land registry and cadastre data model. As a case study, data sets from different sources were transformed to open data sets compatible with the model. This model enables data interoperability in land-related applications. However, models should be kept as simple as possible for effective data transformation and management.