Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemAppropriate cadastral systems( 1995)This paper discusses the role of cadastres in developing countries, reviews why cadastral systems have become much more important in the eyes of policy makers over the last ten years, particularly in the developing world, and finally highlights some important lessons arising from establishing cadastral systems in developing countries over the past decade.
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ItemEstablishing coordinated cadastres: Australian experiences( 1996)Australian cadastral systems have been strongly influenced by the historical settlement of the Australian states and territories. An important consequence is that no cadastral office was ever established and as a result a coordinated cadastre never developed. Departments of Lands or Surveyors General departments administered the ever decreasing Crown lands as a result of rapid alienation, as well as the jurisdictions' surveying and mapping infrastructure. As a result Australia lacked a European style cadastral office providing a complete cadastral record which could be used for land administration purposes. Land Titles Offices historically had the responsibility for all freehold or private lands, which now comprise the vast majority of land parcels in the states. These Offices have been responsible for examining all cadastral surveys and ensuring appropriate regulations for such surveys, however they have only ever been concerned with individual transactions in support of an efficient land market. The maintenance of the cadastral map for each jurisdiction however has usually remained under the control of the Surveyor General or in recent years a geographic information coordination agency. Increasingly the title register in each jurisdiction is including all Crown and government lands and is assuming the role of a European cadastre, albeit the cadastral index has legal significance since it is based on actual land titles. Due to computerisation of the titles register and the establishment of digital cadastral data bases (DCDB), the trend in Australia is for the textual and spatial components of the cadastre to come together technically and administratively. This has allowed Australian jurisdictions for the first time to have a complete cadastral record to support land administration. The resulting model has permitted Australia to move from a land administration structure that was conceptually well behind that of most developed and many developing countries to a position at the forefront of developments due to innovation and computerisation. The development of coordinated cadastres formed by upgrading the now complete DCDBs in Australia is the key in the future improvement of Australia's cadastral systems. This paper reviews this development and shows how the Australian systems differ from their European counterparts. It concludes by attempting to describe a future conceptual model for an Australian state wide geographic information system based on a legal cadastre. Australian states and territories are well advanced to achieving this vision.
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ItemCultural issues in land information systems( 1995)This paper considers the cultural dimension of applying the land information (LIS) concept to lands held under customary land tenure. The paper recognises that the LIS concept has been primarily developed to serve the needs of countries using a Western-styled land market where individual land rights are the norm. However, many countries where customary land holdings exist, or predominate, are also wishing to establish LIS to better manage their land resources. The paper has three main parts. In the first part, Western LIS concepts are reviewed, placing their development in a historical perspective. This includes a sample of the main attributes of land that would be stored in a typical LIS. The paper then reviews the main features of customary land tenure systems which distinguish them from the western systems. Drawing examples from Fiji, where one of the authors is involved in establishing an LIS, the paper compares the rights in land under Western tenure to those under customary tenure, and discusses the cultural implications of including these attributes in an LIS.
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ItemJustification of GIS as an infrastructure investment: some observations regarding GIS management in Victoria( 1995)It is pointed out that there are two components in the GIS investment by the State Government of Victoria; infrastructure investment and business system investment. Owing to inadequate funding up-front, so far, the emphasis of GIS development in Victoria is still on establishing the infrastructure. Development of business systems is lagging behind. The nature of GIS infrastructure investment is such that it relies on benefits derived from business systems developed from it to substantiate it. If Victoria's GIS investment is evaluated within a relatively short time frame, say four to five years from now, the infrastructure may not be mature enough. There may not be sufficient business systems implemented then to justify the GIS investment, the main bulk of which has been in infrastructure. It is recommended that while business systems can be evaluated in a short time frame like other financial investments, GIS infrastructure should be assessed at the end of the actual life cycle of the project when the business systems planned have been implemented. There are three main management implications. First, State Departments should be assessed of their readiness to implement GIS. Second, there should be an agreed program of development and monitoring for both GIS infrastructure and business systems. Third, there should be an agreed mechanism by which, the costs and benefits of developing the GIS infrastructures and business systems can be shared in an equitable manner among the State Government and its Departments.
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ItemA review of the GIS planning methodology for Victoria: its relevance to real life situations( 1995)The Victorian Government spent nearly $1 million in 1991-94 on international consultants undertaking one of the largest cost-benefit and strategic planning initiatives worldwide for the development of GIS. The objective was to review the GIS needs of state agencies in terms of management, finance, data and technology. The consultants developed a broad strategic plan for generating 61 information products to meet the information needs of five key programmatic areas of the State Government. A cumulative benefit of up to $312 million was forecast for an investment of $56 million over a six year period. The State accepted the review and decided to implement the strategy in a commercial manner, under the coordination of the Office of Geographic Data Coordination. Due to the size and success of the study, many valuable lessons can be learnt from a critical review of the process involved and the events that made it possible. This paper will summarise the events that led up to the study, its methodology and outcomes, to be followed by an analysis of its merits and any limitation.
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ItemCoordinated cadastres: a key to building future GIS( 1996)One of the main reasons for the growth in the use of geographic information systems (GIS) has been the availability of digital spatial data. All states and territories in Australia have been moving to provide a range of core spatial data sets as part of their spatial data infrastructure to support GIS. It is accepted in Australia that the most important core data set is the cadastral parcel framework or digital cadastral data base (DCDB). Without such an up-to-date DCDB it is difficult if not impossible for many local government and utility information systems to exist. This paper focuses on the growth of DCDBs in Australia and the very significant technical and institutional changes in the operation and management of DCDBs, particularly over the last few years. Australian jurisdictions have only recently completed the first version of their DCDBs which have generally been created by digitising the best available maps. These DCDBs have accuracies of about 1 mm at map scale (2.5 m at 1:2,500). The next decade will see the development of survey accurate DCDBs updated by coordinated cadastral surveys (in other words coordinated cadastres). These DCDBs will have an accuracy of coordinates of parcel corners of approximately 0.03m in urban areas, 0.2-0.3m in rural areas and 0.5-2m in large properties or mountainous terrain. This will present new opportunities for GIS administrators and will have the potential of dramatically changing the way many activities in organisations are undertaken. Some states and territories are already well on the way to establishing such systems, while all are heading generally in this direction. As a result it is important for GIS administrators to be aware of these changes and potential opportunities. This paper reviews the development of cadastral systems in Australian jurisdictions and examines the moves to establish coordinated cadastres based on survey accurate DCDBs. The paper concludes by attempting to describe a future conceptual model for an Australian state wide geographic information system based on a legal cadastre. In particular it highlights the form of the future core spatial data set providing the land parcel framework and the associated textual or graphic data sets, all of which will be available remotely.
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ItemData flows, standards and incremental cadastral update( 1996)The initial map captured digital cadastral database (DCDB) is undergoing a continual update and upgrade cycle as new cadastral data is added and old data is revised. The role of the DCDB as a spatial reference for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in local government and the utility companies has firmly established them as customers (Wan and Williamson, 1995). The custodians of the DCDB must now tackle the problem of acquiring and distributing these incremental updates and upgrades. This paper examines the incremental data flow both into and out of the DCDB for the two Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. This transfer of cadastral data is modelled from the surveyor as the supplier of the data through to the customers of the DCDB. One of the many considerations in the propagation of the incremental update is specifying the format and standards for the data and of the data transfer. The paper looks at the planning of these two states in regard to transfer standardisation and the possible use of transfer standards such as the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS).
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ItemInternational trends in cadastral reform( 1996)In addressing the topic of international trends in cadastral reform, the paper overviews some of the current or recent projects or activities concerned with cadastral issues which have recently been undertaken by or involved the author. Even though a number of the projects focus on Australia, collectively they give some indication of current issues and trends worldwide in cadastral reform, both in developing and developed countries. The paper describes each project or activity briefly and then endeavours to identify one or two major issues or lessons arising from each project. The projects or activities discussed include: •the activities of Commission 7 (Cadastre and Land Management) of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) •the preparation of the FIG "Statement on the Cadastre" •the justification of cadastral systems in developing countries •the incorporation of traditional or customary tenures in "Western" cadastral systems •the importance of focussing on cadastral processes vs cadastral components in cadastral reform •understanding cadastral maps •establishing and maintaining digital cadastral data bases •understanding the Australian cadastral system •establishing coordinated cadastres in Australia •the relationship of the cadastre to the spatial data infrastructure of a state or country •economic issues in cadastral reform •the role of the cadastre in managing cities •the politics of cadastral and spatial information systems.
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ItemA model of the decision process for GIS adoption and diffusion in a government environment( 1996)The way a government organisation conducts its business can be viewed as a public management system, consisting of a ‘public production process’ in an organisational setting. In this system, many factors interact with one another to make it operate. Accordingly, the decision for the adoption and diffusion of GIS in such a system also will be subject to the influence of these factors. Based on the experience of GIS adoption and utilisation observed in several Australian State government agencies in 1995, seven such factors are identified, namely, GIS paradigm, aligned vision of decision makers, production infrastructure, production process, product mix, organisational setting, and the external environment of the stakeholders. Their relationships are described in a model which confirms the need for alignment between GIS and these factors in a government organisation. It is hoped that the model will contribute to the theoretical understanding of the process of GIS diffusion in a government environment, and as a result, facilitate the planning and management of the process in future.
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ItemA holistic cost-benefit approach to justifying organisation-wide GIS( 1996)In the past GIS justifications were concerned with quantifying the cost of GIS as a tool box comprising data, hardware, software and people with GIS expertise, and the benefits as increased revenue and cost saving/avoidance through improved efficiency and effectiveness. Recent GIS research suggests that an organisation-wide GIS is more than a toolbox. It is part of a production infrastructure for meeting the geographic information needs derived from the objectives of an organisation. When justifying GIS nowadays, one should identify the benefits that match the vision and commitment of the administrative level concerned, which should then be balanced against the technological and organisational investment needed in developing the necessary GIS infrastructure.