The role of land planning policies in supporting housing affordability: The case of the Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip suffers from a limited amount of land compared to the population growth rate. This imposes several challenges on urban planners in managing housing land in a way that protects housing affordability, especially for the low-income category. In general, housing in the Gaza Strip is unaffordable, for several reasons, including a recent abnormal rise in urban land prices. The study investigated this issue based on a survey of local housing specialists in addition to residents. The study found that to support housing affordability in Gaza, planning solutions that ensure efficient use of urban land in the first place need to be implemented. Furthermore, two parallel actions are required: (i) to implement measures that increase housing land supply and improve security of land tenure; and (ii) to establish a robust and effective housing finance system that fits the socio-economic situation in the Gaza Strip.     

三维地籍形态分析与数据表达

研究目的：建立三维地籍模型,描述三维地籍产权体并兼容二维地籍宗地,实现不同维度土地权属的统一管理和登记。研究方法：结合中国城市发展的实例和地籍管理需求,分析三维地籍基本形态,比较各类三维空间数据模型。研究结果：提出适应三维地籍管理功能需求的三维地籍空间数据模型及其相应的数据自动组织方法和思路。研究结论：三维地籍通过地理空间坐标这个“基因”来管理不动产,为土地和房产的统一登记提供了统一的技术框架,是对现行不动产管理技术的升级和超越。     

A structured framework for 3D cadastral data validation − a case study for Victoria,Australia

There are a wide variety of cadastral objects, ranging from simple 2D entities such as a land parcel, to complex 3D objects such as multistory/multi-owned buildings. The complex infrastructures development happening above and below the ground complicates the processes required for defining rights, restrictions and responsibilities in 3D (3D RRRs). Even in the current, predominantly, 3D analogue cadastral system which relies on 2D drawings and representations, defining 3D RRRs is still a complicated task. With the widespread use of 3D geospatial information technologies, it is increasingly becoming easy to realise and interpret a 3D digital cadastre system. As part of the process of transition from the 2D representation of cadastre towards a 3D digital cadastre, not only will 2D representations be replaced with 3D models, but the examination workflow and its principles also need to be able to manage 3D models. Developing principles and validation rules is a critical requirement to guarantee that the diverse cadastral data is trustable and contains enough detail to define the spatial and legal extents of ownership. This paper proposes a structured framework to define validation rules for 3D cadastral models. The paper’s methodology utilises a case study approach where a plan examination process in Victoria, Australia has been analysed to investigate the principles of examining cadastral plans, and further expanded on for validating 3D digital plans. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of the proposed 3D validation rules and proposes future research within the topic of 3D cadastral data validation.     

改革和完善城市土地产权制度的思考

我国城市现行土地权利体系已难以适应土地市场发展的需要,要解决现行土地产权制度存在的问题,必须在明确所有权主体和职能的前提下,强化土地使用权的地位,理顺多种形态使用权之间的关系,从而降低土地使用权的交易成本,促进土地有偿使用规模的不断扩大。     

基于第二次土地调查的城乡一体化地籍管理系统建设方法研究

第二次全国土地调查实现了城乡一体化的土地利用现状分类,规范了城乡土地调查的数学基础和数据库建设标准,形成了城镇地籍数据库与农村地籍数据库.在此基础上,分析城乡一体化地籍管理系统实现的技术基础,提出系统建设的技术路线,论述工作流程和方法,研究系统建设的关键技术,最后得出通过设置城镇范围内数据的打开和关闭功能建立城乡一体化地籍管理系统的方法是当前形势下比较理想的一种方法.     

Land tenure security and its implications for investments to urban agriculture in Soweto,South Africa

Land tenure regime is considered one of the most crucial assets determining viability of urban agriculture, especially in terms of investments. Many authors have built on traditional agricultural theory that only land ownership and (formal) secure land tenure can incite investments into farming, thus stressing the need of secure land tenure for more prosperous urban agriculture. However, these statements are often built on weak or nonexistent empirical evidence. This research aims to contribute to the discussion on land tenure for urban agriculture by mixed-method exploration of the above-mentioned theory. Additionally, we propose a farming investment index which measures the level of investments by using non-monetary information obtained from respondents. The results of our study show that land tenure security for urban farmers is often seen as a rather narrow concept, focusing only on legal tenure security but omitting its other dimensions such as perceived and de facto tenure security. Nevertheless, all three dimensions of tenure security positively influence investments to urban agriculture.     

Climate resilient urban development: Why responsible land governance is important

In less-developed countries, the major global pressures of rapid urbanization and climate change are resulting in increased vulnerability for urban dwellers. Much of the climate impact is concentrated in urban and coastal areas, as urban development spreads into areas that are hazard-prone. Often this development is dominated by poor quality homes in informal settlements or slums on informal or illegally occupied or subdivided land.Urban development needs to be more climate-resilient to meet the post millennium development goals (MDGs) agenda. One of the elements in achieving climate-resilient urban development is the degree to which climate change adaptation and risk management are mainstreamed into two major elements of land governance, viz. securing and safeguarding of land rights, and planning and control of land-use.This paper proposes ways in which the growth of human settlements can be better managed through responsible governance of land tenure rights, and effective land-use planning to reduce vulnerability, provide adequate access to safe land and shelter, and improve environmental sustainability.     

三维地籍的建立分析

三维地籍是土地利用和社会、经济发展的必然结果,它将会在土地管理和社会经济发展规划中发挥重要的作用,但是在现有的技术、经济和法律条件下将土地空间信息进行登记、利用还存在着一定困难.通过阐述我国土地利用发展对三维地籍的需求,从经济、法律和技术方面讨论了目前三维地籍在建立过程中存在的障碍.     

Planning for social inclusion: The impact of socioeconomic inequities on the informal development of farmland in suburban Beijing

Informal development on farmland is not only a major problem facing thousands of people, but also a major challenge to land use planning. In the rapidly growing literature on informal land development in China, most authors claim that ambiguous property rights and the dual land tenure system are the primary factors involved. As a result, existing state-led land use planning responses to informal development are solely focused on strengthening the legal regulation of land development. This paper challenges this approach, on the basis of the theory of urban informality. By examining many illegal gated communities in suburban Beijing, the paper argues that the informal development of farmland on the urban fringe is the result of local grassroots groups spontaneously responding to socioeconomic inequities in the context of transition to a market economy. These inequities mainly concern distributive inequity, procedural inequity and contextual inequity in relation to land use. It appears that the ongoing market-oriented initiatives of the state government could worsen informal land development unless these socioeconomic inequalities at the local level are tackled. The growing civil society is another change to the state's control of informal land development in China's cities. A new land use planning system which has more concern for social inclusion rather than focusing on centralized control is imperative in China.     

土地立体利用与三维地籍

人口和产业在城市的集聚导致城市人地矛盾日趋紧张,为了集约和节约用地,土地利用的立体化趋势越来越明显.这使得人们对土地的理解也从二维变为三维,土地三维权利和建筑物区分所有制度也逐步确立.不同的产权单元在空间上叠加,抽象的产权束在空间上的表现形态为复杂的产权簇或产权层.但传统的地籍是以地表权利为核心的,不能满足实际需求,有必要建立三维地籍.从各国的实践经验看,三维地籍的主要问题是现行法律对三维产权规定的缺位以及一些技术问题.随着我国不动产空间权利设定的进程,三维地籍的建设要从法律和技术两方面人手,逐步过渡到完全的三维形式,以满足国家(政府)层面和普通层面的需求.     

Changes in land use, land tenure, and landscape fragmentation in the Tijuana River Watershed following reform of the ejido sector

Changes in land use and land tenure can influence both physical fragmentation and ownership fragmentation of landscapes, with implications for biodiversity. In this study, we evaluated changes in land use and land tenure in the Tijuana River Watershed, a region of high biodiversity and endemism, following the implementation of a new Agrarian Law which allowed for privatization and sales of communal land (ejidos) beginning in 1992. In order to understand changes in land use and cover, we constructed maps from aerial photographs and Aster images and measured changes between 1994 and 2005. In order to understand changes in land tenure, we collected data from Mexican government sources on ejido land size, ownership, and sales, and we conducted 55 structured interviews with ejidatarios in the watershed. Our results demonstrate that land-use/cover change between 1994 and 2005 was dominated by an increase in urban area and grasslands, and a decrease in coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and, to a lesser degree, agriculture. In particular, the conversion of coastal sage scrub has left a far more fragmented landscape than existed in 1994. In addition, most of the ejidos in the watershed, as well as individuals interviewed, had participated in some stage of the land certification and titling process allowed by the new Agrarian Law, resulting in substantial changes in land tenure. However, land tenure security appeared to play a larger role than a desire to sell land and, contrary to studies from other regions, full title to the land was obtained in a range of urban and rural settings, rather than primarily on land closest to urban zones. Our results suggest that past predictions regarding future urban growth and fragmentation of native vegetation in the region have proven accurate and highlights regions of change that merit further study.     

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.     

Urban land administration and planning in China: Opportunities and constraints of spatial data models

China's economic reforms over the past decades have given rise to the development of a rudimentary urban land market. Although one cannot speak of a land “market” in the strict sense of the word, there is an urban land allocation system in which land lease rights can be acquired through the payment of a land-use fee. If the urban land market is to develop in a sustainable manner, new credible institutions need to be established that can safeguard greater legal security and transparency. For these purposes, it is necessary to establish a management system that can support the legal (tenure security), economic (leases, taxes) and broader aspects (spatial and environmental land use policies) of land administration. To make an urban land administration system socially credible and functional, land-related information should be registered and structured at a detailed spatial level, such as parcels. There is no parcel-based information system in China, but the country has developed a population registration system at a detailed spatial level that could be a starting point to develop integrated information systems, or a so-called “local spatial data infrastructure”. This paper reviews China's population registration system and their spatial units and presents a proposal for an information system that can be expanded or adapted to meet the requirements of an effective land administration system.     

From male to joint land ownership: Women's experiences of the land tenure reform programme in Rwanda

During the post‐genocide period, the Government of Rwanda embarked on a land tenure reform programme that culminated in a land registration and titling process in 2009. This paper intends to capture women's experiences in relation to this programme. The empirical data were collected in Musanze District using a household survey, semi‐structured interviews, and focus group discussions. The main findings reveal that there is support of the general idea that women should benefit from the land tenure reform in Rwanda. However, there is some criticism towards parts of the land laws, and women have limited actual knowledge about land‐related laws. With land titles, women mostly have a say on the land use decisions requiring each of the spounses' legal consents but not on the daily management of land and its produce. Finally, the paper reports the persistence of social norms and culturally biased gender ideologies affecting the effective implementation of land‐related laws and policies. Therefore, the paper underscores the need to build the implementation of new laws and policies on a good understanding of customary practices to strengthen women's land rights in Rwanda.     

Low-cost housing developments in South Africa miss the opportunities for household level urban greening

Most developing countries of the world are experiencing large-scale migration from rural to urban areas. Many new migrants end up in low-cost or informal areas and slums with attendant environmental concerns. One dimension of improved urban sustainability is the provision of green spaces and trees. Whilst many countries have urban greening programmes for public spaces and streets, few have considered the status and potential contribution of trees from resident's own gardens. This paper reports firstly on the policy environment for urban forestry and greening in South Africa and secondly on the maintenance, use and appreciation of trees on private homesteads of residents of new and older low-income suburbs as well as informal housing areas from three small towns in South Africa. In particular we examine if the most recent centrally planned and built low-income housing schemes (called RDP suburbs in South Africa) have considered and incorporated plans or spaces for urban greenery in peoples’ homesteads. We found that broad environmental and sustainability concerns and statements are common in urban development and housing policies, but specific guidelines for implementation are generally absent. More specifically, urban forestry and tree planting are rarely mentioned in the broader land use and environmental policies other than the national forest act and subsequent regulations, but even there it is relatively superficial. In the study towns the prevalence, density and number of species of trees was lowest in the new RDP suburbs relative to the township and informal areas. Consequently, the contribution of tree products to local livelihoods was also lower in the RDP areas. Yet there were no differences in the level of appreciation of the value and intangible benefits of trees between residents from the three different suburbs. This shows that the failure to plan for and accommodate trees in new low-cost housing developments is missing an opportunity to improve overall urban sustainability and liveability and constraining the potential flows of tangible and intangible benefits to urban residents. Making opportunities for such in older suburbs is challenging because of space limitations and cost implications of retrospective provisions, but incorporation into plans for new low-cost housing development should be possible.     

Adoption of volunteered geographic information into the formal land administration system in Kenya

Individualization of tenure through title registration programmes introduced in many African countries after independence with the promise of security of tenure and increased agricultural productivity has, instead, had the opposite effect. Informal land arrangements continue to emerge as a result of the slow pace of land adjudication (formalization) and updating of land information systems. The trend towards computerization of land information systems has only put focus on already existing formal land tenure arrangements, leaving out the informal social tenure arrangements. As a result, there are now many efforts worldwide motivated by the introduction of the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM), and freely-available and easy-to-use technology tools to identify, document and map land in support of informal land administration arrangements. Actions are made towards the use of community-generated information to support land administration. Using theories from the interplay between formal and informal institutions, this paper discusses the potential outcomes in adopting Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in land administration in Kenya. Two case studies are presented that demonstrate the complementary-accommodating, versus the substitutive-competing approaches. These are then compared with the formal land adjudication process in Kenya. It is established that because of the direct involvement of the national mapping agency in land adjudication where VGI is utilized, the outcome is a case of formal adoption of VGI, while in the other case, where there is little or no involvement by the national mapping agency, the outcome is more of competition and substitution. The latter is an example in which the VGI is used just like any other information to inform policy making, rather than taking it as the authoritative source. We argue that since informality is – and will always be – part and parcel of land administration in many African countries as a result of ingrained social relations and power structures, adopting crowdsourced land information into existing formal land administration systems should consider the particular land administration process, satisfying innate demands and requirements, thus re-engineered to accommodate VGI.     

Land tenure and management reforms in East and Southern Africa – the case of Botswana

Since attainment of independence, almost every country in East and Southern Africa has introduced some kind of land reform aimed at reconciling indigenous land tenure practices and those introduced by colonial regimes. The reforms have centred on modification of tenurial rules on access, ownership, administration and transfer of land rights coupled with land redistribution and/or restitution in some countries. With the exception of a few countries, such as Botswana, land reforms have largely remained on statute books with little to show on the ground. The paper gives an overview of land reforms in East and Southern Africa, taking Botswana as a case study. It notes that although Botswana has largely been successful in implementing land reforms, it is currently experiencing land tenure problems, especially in peri-urban settlements and inner city low-income areas, despite government's enhanced control over local land administrative structures. The paper ends with suggestions on how to contain the current problems.     

Changing Land Rights Means Changing Society: The Sociopolitical Effects of Agrarian Reforms under the Government of Evo Morales

Agrarian reform cannot be limited to a linear process of land distribution. It involves a societal restructuration that affects power relations, multi‐level governance structures, the (re)spatialization of juridical legitimacy and symbolic boundaries between sociocultural groups (ethnicity). This paper analyses the consequences of the major Bolivian agrarian reforms of 1953, 1996 and 2006 for the current process of setting up the ‘plurinational’ state under the government of Evo Morales. Using a historical and sociopolitical approach, we show that the ethnically differentiated devolution of individual and collective tenure rights has resulted in an institutional segmentation along ethnic boundaries that gives rise to a growing polarization between the two socially constructed categories of indigenous people and peasants. This institutional segmentation is not limited to agrarian questions but also affects other domains, such as political processes related to territorial autonomies. The current government is trying to maintain a neutral position by giving priority to large‐scale national programmes of economic development.     

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.     

An assessment of the implications of alternative scales of communal land tenure formalization in pastoral systems

Pastoralism faces diverse challenges, that include, among others, land tenure insecurity, that has necessitated the need to formalize land rights. Some governments have started regularizing rights for privately owned land, but this is complex to implement in pastoral areas where resources are used and managed collectively. Our aim was to assess how the scale of communal land tenure recognition in pastoralist systems may affect tradeoffs among objectives such as tenure security, flexibility, mobility, and reduction of conflicts. We used a participatory scenario-building approach to investigate alternative scenarios of land tenure recognition in southern Ethiopia where a new communal land tenure system is in the early stages of implementation. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and a workshop, respondents analyzed the likely outcomes of communal land tenure recognition at different scales. Our findings suggest that there is a good chance of success when the tenure policy is embedded onto customary structures. All scales have some shortcomings, but Reera seems best, yet pastoralists preferred the Dheeda which despite its challenges, is the best for maintaining flexible mobility. There are multiple uncertainties and complexities, which suggest the for multi-pronged approaches and various support mechanisms when implementing a formal land tenure system in these areas.