I’ve missed writing regularly here for the most trivial reason – work overload. It’s not an excuse I know. Anyway the reason for this load was a tender response I was involved in that took a lot of my time. It was for a cadastre (land) information system (which is one of our main areas here in Sivan Design). The subject of land systems is a fascinating one, may not sound like it when you first hear about it, but if you have interest in people, in developing economies, in the power of information – it is.

A land information system presents a legal option of land ownership. It may sound trivial for some of you, but in many countries receiving land ownership is difficult and only a very small percent of land parcels have a registered owner. In some countries there are unofficial tenure systems that make things even more complicated. This tender was for a former USSR country which has a different angle, because private land ownership is a relatively new concept…

A great way to learn about the importance of land ownership and registration is to hear or read Hernando De-Soto , a Peruvian economist known for his work on the importance of property rights. He gave a very interesting keynote lecture in the last ESRI conference, unfortunately the video is missing recently – it was an inspiring one. He presents a strict view of the connection between properties rights and economy growth. According to De-Soto formal land registration is crucial because of credit options, sense of stability, utilities development and taxes collection, which all effect economy.
There are critics, obviously, they may be right to some extent, land registration is no miracle it is a tool. And as in any other complicated situation it cannot solely control economy. If government is not stable or corrupt, it will not fix it. But I feel it can start the ball rolling.

Land information systems are highly complex! A land information system is usually used by a few groups of users: government officials, business organizations (lawyers, real estate agents, etc.) and the public, with each group having very different characteristics. These users have various tasks and processes to complete, so the system must include tools for structuring processes and monitoring them. Another complexity is the use of both regular (textual) information – Who is the owner of the land? and spatial (mapping, survey) data – Where is the land?, so you can imagine the complexities involved.
When designing a land system, it is not only about design, but also about content. Design can be challenging (or not) in many different ways but when the content is meaningful for you …it blows your sails…

It is not the first time we respond to such a tender but it is a great challenge every time -
Good luck to us J