Geospatial World Forum 2013Jill S. Urban-KarrExecutive Vice PresidentStewart Global Solutions15 May 2013Quantitative and Qualitative Benefits of Geospatial Technology: Examples from North America

Premise:By integrating land records, governments at all levels may realize benefits, qualitative and quantitativeExamples:

Case Study Locations

Chester County, Pennsylvania USAExample 1 Chester County, PALocated in Eastern PennsylvaniaPopulation: 500,438 (July 2011)Area: 756 miles2

Chester County materials provided by Pierce Eichelberger, gDBMS, Inc.

http://www.city-data.com/county/Chester_County-PA.html; accessed 11 April 2013

County Administration and the County Recorder of Deeds had a vision for improvement of the Countys land recordsProblems:Six different property identification numbers, developed by different offices over timeClerical personnel in the Assessors office decided to re-use numbersChester County, Pennsylvania USA

Chester County, Pennsylvania USA

Chester County, Pennsylvania USA - Solution

Uniform Parcel Identification #sElectronic Record SubmissionGeodetic Control NetworkParsing of Legal DescriptionsGIS Map CreationLegal Descriptions Tied to GISTime Sensitive GIS Map UpdateHistorical Data ConversionClean Keys, Names & AddressesTotal Record IntegrationAssessments/CAMAe-Commerce Using Land Records

Chester County, Pennsylvania USA

Chester County, Pennsylvania USA

Land Records Office Notifies Assessor of Each Transfer, as It Happens: Chester County, Pennsylvania USA

Chester County - ResultsSignificant new revenues ($6.2 Million between 2001 2010); expected ROI of between 10:1 20:1Standardized addressesCommon link via the UPI between multiple offices/departments

Ciudad Juarez, MexicoExample 2 Ciudad Jurez, MexicoLocated in Northeastern MexicoPopulation: ~1,332,131 (metro area 8th largest in Mexico)Area: 73 miles2 (188 kilometers2)

The case study for Ciudad Juarez is taken from

Pea, S.; Fuentes, C.; Cervera, L. and Hernandez, V. 2012. Planning Support Systems: A Computer-assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) System for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Journal of Property Tax Assessment and Administration 9(4), 25 40.

Figures and other materials used by permission. Additional sources include:

Pea, S. and Fuentes, C. 2007. Land Use Changes in Ciudad Jurez, Chihuahua: A Systems Dynamic Model. Estudios Fronterizos 8(16), 65 - 89.

Regional Stakeholders Committee. 2009. The Paso del Norte Region, US-Mexico: Self-Evaluation Report. OECD Reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development, IMHE, http://www.oecd.org/edu/imhe/regionaldevelopment (Accessed 8 April 2013).

The city has grown in population and area, while population density decreased. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Population 1990789,522Population 20001,187,275Population 20081,371,600Change 1990 - 2008582,07873.73%Change 2000 - 2008184,32515.53%

Persons/ HectareArea (hectares) 199014,04957Area (hectares) 200021,57256Area (hectares) 200531,24642Change 1990 - 200517,197122.41%Change 2000 - 20059,67444.85%

an expanding population;

a growing need for municipal services;

declining property tax revenues.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) can be a powerful tool to help municipalities improve property tax administration by rapidly valuing properties using mathematical tools.

CAMA could assist Ciudad Jurez improve its financial position by increasing its tax base and thus its revenue potential.

However, CAMA is data intensive.

Data collection is expensive, and for Ciudad Jurez may be prohibitive.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Solution

The methodology had the following four steps:

1. Self-reported value data were gathered from newspapers and real estate offices. The data were cleaned and a sample of 427 properties were identified. Each record contained location, value and physical characteristics

2. Each record was geocoded so it could be displayed on the digital base map

3. A property value map was generated using ordinary Kriging, a process by which unknown values are predicted from known values. The 427 properties served as the known values from which all other values were predicted.

4. With the GIS-generated values, tradition CAMA regression models were constructed to determine the contribution of the physical attributes to value. The models were tested and found to give expected results. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Solution

Thus a database of reasonably accurate parcel values was generated for a city of 1.4 million persons without the need for extensive and expensive data collection.

The econometric models have shown housing quality indicators are the strongest predictors of real estate values in the city more so than physical features such as slope or location in a flood plain.

The following slides show the spatial distribution of the initial 427 parcels and the resulting value maps derived using statistical tools built into GIS software. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Solution

Spatial Distribution of Asking Prices, 427 geo-referenced properties in Ciudad JurezCiudad Juarez, Mexico - Results

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Results

Land Values in Ciudad Jurez as determined by Ordinary KrigingCiudad Juarez, Mexico - Results

Construction price per meter2 in Ciudad Jurez as determined by Ordinary Kriging

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Results

Three-dimensional View of Interpolated Property Values in Ciudad JurezCiudad Juarez, Mexico - Results

Application:

Because of the recent outbreaks of violent crime, many city residents have moved from the city.

This has caused some deterioration in real estate values.

Citizens have requested adjustments in their valuations and thus lower tax bills.

City tax officials have been unable to explain their valuation methodologies to taxpayers.

The CAMA model designed by Pea, et al., can give tax officials a more efficient way to value properties and thus be better able to convince taxpayers of the accuracy of their valuations. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Results

This CAMA/GIS tool can also be used as a planning support system to

forecast locations where growth will likely occur;

accurately adjust the value of properties as they increase due to increasing demand;

allow the increased values to drive increased property tax collection, thus providing funds for expanded municipal services.Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Results

Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, BelizeExample 3 Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, BelizeLocated on the Eastern coast of the Yucatan PeninsulaPopulation: 356,600Area: 22,810 km2 (8,807 miles2)

Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, Belize

Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, BelizeMultiple tenure regimes (formal and informal)For registered properties, a paper-based systemInefficiencies and delays in processing land transactionsA need for improved land administration to bolster economic development

Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, Belize - Solutionuse of standardized PIN mandatory (remember Chester County!)registration of 16,000 rural parcels in 3 districts7,000 rural parcels included in new registration sections that will be registeredall rural land in 2 districts subject to registration50% of all land parcels under the Registration Law4 of the 7 offices in the Dept. of Lands & Survey connected to the LIS

Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, Belize - Solution

Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, Belize - ResultsSource: Inter-American Development Bank Belize LMPIII Loan Proposal, 2009

Efficiency Gains from Adoption of the Land Information SystemDept Lands & Surveys SectionTransaction TypePre-LISPost-LISRegistryApplication for Land Certificate80-days/transaction39 days/transactionMapping & SurveyMutation50 days/transaction28 days/transactionValuationProperty Tax Assessment10 transactions/day50 transactions/day

Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, Belize - Results

Ministry of Natural Resources & Agriculture, Belize - ResultsLand Management Project III Achieved Additional Results:

LIS extended to all offices of the DLS7 District offices are now linked electronically to the MNRA offices in BelmopanPublic access kiosks for general inquiries/self service available in the lobby130+ users utilizing the same data for all land decisionsAudit monitoring capability has reduced fraud

Lessons LearnedThe 3 case studies show how governments have implemented and used geospatial technology to improve operations, provide better service and be more responsive. Specifically:

revenues have increasedtransactions are processed more quicklybetter information is availableefficiencies are generatedsecurity is improved

Lessons LearnedMost importantly:

Strategies must include the latest technology not outdated technology. Users literally everywhere are capable of learning the newest approaches and tools.

As the examples show, geospatial technology can be implemented in a variety of circumstances from affluent to constrained. Governments and their citizens at any level of development can all benefit from enlightened use of these powerful tools.

Thank you for your interest and attention.For further information:

Jill S. Urban-KarrExecutiveVicePresidentStewart Global Solutions+1.201.477.2600jkarr@stewart.comwww.stewart.com/

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