Developing a Framework to Standardize the 3D Urban Land Administration System for Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan's national vision and strategic plans focus on developing digital and smart cities. With rapid urbanization, it is essential to prioritize policies and governance that promote sustainable development, digitalization and reduce social inequalities. However, Pakistan's urban land and property records are disintegrated, manual and paper-based, with outdated institutional workflows and responsibilities. This results in suboptimal judicial and taxation systems, a stagnant land market, frequent land disputes, and deteriorating urban planning. The objectives of this research are to assess the status and challenges of urban Land Administration Systems (LASs), develop a profile for urban LAS in Pakistan following internationally recognized standard and a conceptual framework for transforming existing manual LASs into a standardized 3D urban LAS. The methodology employs the case study and Design Science Research (DSR) mix method at three levels: the Rigor Cycle (exploratory case study), Design Cycle, and Relevance Cycle (explanatory case study). The exploratory case study used United Nations Framework for Effective Land Administration (FELA) guidelines to assess the LASs status and challenges. The results show there is a need for extensive reforms in existing LASs, as more than half of the stakeholders are dissatisfied with them. Furthermore, 81% of owner-buyers belonging to development authorities are not satisfied with their LASs. Corruption, disputes, prolonged litigations, and fraud are prominent in the LASs. 76% of lawyers are not satisfied with LAS-related laws and policies. The government is also suffering financially due to low revenue collection and undervaluation of property. Existing LASs are primarily manual, and 90% of stakeholders are interested in innovating the LASs through modern technologies. There is a lack of capacity and partnership in LAS organizations. The accessibility of land and property records is also a challenge. Through requirement analysis, I found a strong need to adopt LAS standards, build organizations' capacity, adopt modern technology, revamp laws and policies related to LASs, and improve inter-organizational workflows. The existing LASs satisfy the requirements for a LAS, which is globally recognized as the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM). However, systematic transformations are needed to upgrade layout plans and drawings into accurate geospatial data in 2D and above and below-ground infrastructure into 3D. The research proposes a conceptual LAS domain model profile for Pakistan based on LADM. The research highlights the significant support the PK_LADM implementation offers to achieve Pakistan's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing organizational overlaps and ambiguities within LASs position the proposed PK_LADM as a transformative force for sustainable urban LAS in Pakistan. Keeping in view the existing LAS challenges, the proposed LAS framework relies on the FELA requirements to develop responsible, sustainable, and standardized 3D urban LAS in Pakistan. Key actions are suggested to implement existing attribute and spatial parts into PK_LADM and 3D LAS using Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards. The proposed framework is expected to reduce land disputes, improve revenue collection, secure land tenure, fast-track property registration, strengthen stakeholder partnership and online availability of land records. Recommendations include revamping the organizational structure, amending relevant laws, and implementing the PK_LADM. Additionally, migrating the LAS to a service-oriented model is essential. Capacity development should transition from the traditional patwari-driven LAS to one that leverages geospatial technology, digital twins, blockchain, data science, and machine learning.