Abstract: Background: Worldwide, modern land administration systems (LAS) are under unprecedented pressure due to rapid urbanization, the expansion of informal settlements, insecurity of tenures, environmental degradation, and inefficient maintenance of cadastral records. Although traditional ground-based methods of cadastral surveying provide legal precision at the millimeter level, they are too costly, require a great deal of labor, and are slow to carry out on a national scale. Objective: This article gives a thorough and systematic summary of the newly developing geospatial technologies—these include photogrammetry using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Terrestrial and Mobile Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), Very High Resolution (VHR) Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS), the integration of 3D/4D Building Information Modeling with Geographic Information Systems (BIM-GIS), and Distributed Ledger Technology (Blockchain)—with regard to the modernisation of cadastral surveying and land governance. Literature search and review method: A systematic literature search was carried out in Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed studies that were published between 2015 and 2026. The explicit inclusion criteria were used to select empirical investigations, technical frameworks, and policy evaluations relating to 2D/3D/4D cadastral modelling, fit-for-purpose land administration (FFPLA), and automated spatial data extraction. Key findings: Compared with terrestrial techniques, integrated geospatial pipelines cut the time required for carrying out cadastral surveying in the field by 60 to 75 per cent and achieve horizontal and vertical positional accuracies at the centimetre level, meeting the statutory requirements for cadastral surveys. The use of active 3D sensor fusion (LiDAR-photogrammetry) together with BIM-GIS data integration overcomes the structural drawbacks of traditional 2D planar cadastres by allowing volumetric stratification of legal rights, restrictions, and responsibilities (RRRs). Moreover, decentralized ledgers incorporated with Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) greatly reduce instances of title corruption, boundary manipulation, and administrative friction. Conclusion: Geospatial technologies form a fundamental basis for attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1, 11, and 15); in order to realise their full potential it is necessary to address the standardisation gaps in 3D data models (for example those in the Land Administration Domain Model ISO 19152), the high computational overheads, and the regulatory obstacles that exist in developing areas.
Land ownership management is a critical administrative process that requires secure record maintenance, transparent ownership verification, and efficient property transfer mechanisms. Conventional land registry systems primarily depend on centralized databases and paper-based documentation, making them susceptible to document forgery, unauthorized modifications, duplicate ownership claims, lengthy verification procedures, and administrative inefficiencies. These limitations often result in ownership disputes, reduced public trust, and delays in property transactions. This paper presents a Blockchain-Enabled Secure Land Registry Framework that leverages blockchain technology to establish a decentralized, transparent, and tamper-resistant platform for land registration and ownership management. The proposed system integrates a React.js-based user interface with a Node.js and Express.js backend, while Firebase Authentication and Firebase Firestore manage user authentication, supporting documents, and application data. Ethereum smart contracts developed using Solidity are employed to securely record land registration, government verification, and ownership transfer transactions on the blockchain, with Ganache serving as the blockchain testing environment. Every approved transaction generates a unique blockchain transaction hash, enabling secure verification, complete traceability, and immutable ownership history. The hybrid architecture combines the scalability of cloud-based data management with the integrity of blockchain technology to ensure efficient record retrieval while preventing unauthorized alterations. The implemented framework demonstrates secure land registration, transparent ownership transfer, simplified government verification, and reliable auditability with minimal operational complexity. The proposed solution provides a scalable and cost-effective approach for modern digital land administration and establishes a strong foundation for future integration with national land registries, electronic identity verification, GIS-based property mapping, and mobile-enabled citizen services.
Land registration is a fundamental function of governance, directly impacting economic development, social stability, and individual wealth security. Yet, despite its critical importance, traditional land registry systems across the world continue to suffer from persistent and costly problems. These include document forgery, unauthorized alterations by corrupt officials, double spending (i.e., selling the same land parcel to multiple buyers), fraudulent title transfers, loss of physical records due to fire or natural disasters, and bureaucratic inefficiency that results in years-long delays for property transfers. According to the World Bank, nearly 70% of the world's population lacks access to reliable land titles, and land disputes account for a significant percentage of civil litigation globally. To address these systemic vulnerabilities, this paper proposes a decentralized land registry system built on blockchain technology. Blockchain—a distributed, immutable, and transparent digital ledger—offers unique properties that directly counter the weaknesses of centralized land registries. The proposed system leverages three key blockchain features: (1) decentralization, which eliminates single points of failure and removes the need for trust in any central authority; (2) smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements that automate land transfers, verify ownership conditions, and release payments only when all predefined criteria are met; and (3) cryptographic hashing, which creates unique digital fingerprints for land documents (such as sale deeds, survey maps, and mutation records), making any tampering instantly detectable.
India's asset management systems, especially land records, property registries and ownership documents, face major challenges such as fraud, ownership disputes, slow manual verification and fragmented documentation. These issues affect citizens, government departments, financial institutions and real-estate stakeholders. Blockchain technology provides an opportunity to improve asset management by creating tamper-resistant records, transparent transaction history and automated workflows through smart contracts. This paper studies the use of blockchain platforms for asset management in India with a comparative focus on Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum. The study analyzes technical architecture, performance, privacy, cost, scalability and implementation barriers. It also considers Indian use cases such as Telangana land parcel initiatives, Karnataka Bhoomi-related digital land record modernization and national-level blockchain adoption efforts. The findings show that Hyperledger Fabric is more suitable for regulated government asset systems because it provides permissioned access, privacy channels, higher transaction throughput and lower operational cost. Ethereum is useful for public transparency and open applications, but its public-chain gas cost, lower throughput and regulatory challenges reduce suitability for high-volume government asset records. The paper concludes that a permissioned blockchain model with proper standards, legacy-system integration, legal recognition and rural digital infrastructure can support scalable blockchain-based asset management in India.
In recent years,Land registration systems in many countries faces various challenges such as duplicate property, forgeries in documents, ownership conflicts, and unauthorized resale of property. Traditional systems are vulnerable to human errors, tampering of data, corruption which leads to lack of transparency and trust between buyer and seller. To overcome these issues,blockchain technology offers an immutability and transparency land registration system, but blockchain alone fails to ensure ownership integrity during transfer. This paper proposes a Blockchain and Non-Fungible Token (NFT)-based land registration system which ensures unique ownership of property , prevents duplicate registration of land , and reduces fraudulent during transactions. Each land parcel is represented as a unique NFT deployed on a blockchain network, which acts as an blockchain-based land title. Smart contracts enables ownership verification and allow land transfer only by the authorized owner.Land- related documents are stored using the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), ensuring data integrity and decentralized storage. The proposed system ensures security, transparency and tamper proof while allowing ownership transfer. Experimental implementations and evaluation of implementations establish that the system effectively prevents duplicate land titles, fake ownership of property , and resale of already sold land. The solution provides a scalable and reliable approach for modernizing land registry systems using decentralized technologies.
Kummari Santhosh Kumar, Nadiminti Shaik Mahammad Haneef, Tholla Umesh Chand, Dr. Manjunatha N
The Decentralized Record Management System for Land Data using Blockchain Technology aims to improve the security, transparency, and reliability of land record management. Traditional land record systems are mostly centralized and manual, which makes them prone to fraud, data manipulation, delays, and loss of records. This project proposes a blockchain-based solution to securely store and manage land ownership details, transactions, and historical records in a tamper-proof and transparent manner. By using blockchain technology, all land records are stored in a distributed ledger that cannot be altered once recorded. Each transaction, such as land registration or ownership transfer, is verified and added as a new block, ensuring data integrity and traceability. Smart contracts are used to automate processes like ownership transfer and verification, reducing human intervention and increasing efficiency. Only authorized users can access or update records, ensuring data privacy and security.
Open access
2 source records
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support Systems
Hayat Ullah Abid, Syeda Maria Zafar, Muhammad Arslan, Muhammad Essa
Land ownership is a crucial element of society, providing stability, economic opportuni ties, and social identity. However, managing land ownership in Pakistan is complex and challeng ing, plagued by disputes, fraud, and inefficiencies in land markets. Tokenization, derived from Web 3.0 and blockchain technology, offers a promising solution by digitizing land parcels into tokens stored on a secure and transparent distributed ledger. This paper explores how tokenization can enhance the efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of land markets, streamline the verification and transfer of ownership, reduce fraud risks, and improve market liquidity. The study also outlines implementation steps and data requirements for tokenization in Pakistan’s land information sys tem.
Efficient administration of small estates in Malaysia is characterized by the complications of the hybrid processes between manual and digital administration, and fragmentation of jurisdiction. This paper examines the operational bottlenecks in the existing system of estate distribution coordinated by the Department of Director General of Lands and Mines (JKPTG) as being the challenges of manual verification, absence of integration of the agencies across states, and security of documents as the major impediments to effective governance. In order to overcome these issues, the paper will offer the Integrated Estate Governance Framework (IEGF) an architectural improvisation based on the Small Estates (Distribution) Act 1955. The framework emerged as a result of adopting a Design Science Research (DSR) approach to the development of the study through the qualitative knowledge of senior officers in the JKPTG in a variety of states. The IEGF integrates a Consortium Blockchain with an AI Engine (to support decisions), Smart Contracts (to automate workflows) and Decentralized Identifiers (DID) with ECDSA (to perform secure authentication). The architecture is designed to be privacy and storage efficient by using Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) and InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). Findings show that the IEGF allows the jurisdiction-independent application process and automatic title endorsement through the e-Tanah integration. The paper has come up with the conclusion that a combination of these technologies offers a scalable, transparent, and robust solution to modernize the national land administration.
With the development of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and metaverse technologies, the forms of virtual property have shifted from traditional types such as game items and social accounts to novel virtual property like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), metaverse land, digital artworks, and algorithmically generated content. Although Article 127 of the Civil Code calls for protection of virtual property, it does not clarify the legal character or ownership of such property. Legal protection for virtual property currently faces core dilemmas including ambiguous rights-holders, difficulty in identifying the objects of rights, and the absence of a registration and public-notice system. This paper argues that novel virtual property should be recognized as a form of “special property right.” Drawing on foreign experience and adopting a phased approach to legislation, China should construct a three-dimensional protection framework centered on registration and public notice. Such measures would enrich property-rights theory, safeguard user interests, and promote the healthy development of the digital economy.
BADADHE SHIVAJI, VENKATESH IYER, SAMI SHAIKH, ARUN GHANDAT
The real estate sector grapples with the persistent issues of inconsistent property appraisals, a lack of transparency in valuation methodologies, and a reliance on outdated pricing frameworks. This project introduces an innovative solution: a distributed ledger-based real estate valuation system. This system leverages self-executing digital agreements and spatial data analytics to deliver dynamic, transparent, and data-driven property assessments. By incorporating OpenStreetMap APIs, the system automates the acquisition of real-time data pertaining to proximate community resources, such as educational institutions, healthcare facilities, recreational spaces, and public transit networks. A weighted valuation algorithm processes this information to derive a contextual relevance score, quantifying the spatial influence and impact of these factors on property values. The computed scores, along with pertinent property details, are securely stored and managed on the Ethereum network via smart contracts, ensuring data integrity, immutability, and enhanced stakeholder trust. Furthermore, the system automates the entire valuation workflow through a Python-based backend, which serves as an intermediary between distributed ledger interactions and spatial data acquisition. Designed for scalability, transparency, and operational efficiency, this project aims to modernize conventional property valuation practices by addressing inherent inefficiencies and empowering stakeholders with access to reliable, up-to-the-minute valuation data. By redefining the paradigm of property value assessment, this system offers a transformative approach to real estate pricing, harmonizing cutting-edge distributed ledger technology with advanced spatial data analysis.
The nature of virtual assets and their legal regulation is a challenge for policymakers, because virtual assets themselves are a new phenomenon in the field of social and economic relations, which is significantly different from established types of property. The market of virtual assets, which has achieved significant development over the past 10 years, is of interest for research and from a fiscal point of view, because despite its significant volume, agreed approaches to the taxation of operations carried out in such a market are absent or are at the stage of development. A significant number of new challenges facing the legislator when determining the tax regime of operations with virtual assets arise from their qualities, which are categorically different from other types of assets. Virtual assets have a significant number of subspecies, which on the one hand are significantly different from each other, and on the other hand share common features. In particular, the most famous virtual assets - Bitcoin, Ethereum are completely decentralized, do not have a specific issuer, do not certify any civil rights of the owner, and do not have security. On the other hand, such types of virtual assets as electronic money tokens («stablecoins») or tokens related to assets are a form of expression of civil rights, namely the rights of claim against the issuer. Thus, it is problematic to determine which set of characteristics to use to distinguish virtual assets from other types of property while taking into account the full range of diversity of virtual assets themselves. In addition, transactions with virtual assets take place in forms different from transactions with cash, securities, etc. The ability of subjects to store, exchange, acquire and alienate virtual assets without the participation of any financial institutions or other intermediaries is another challenge in rulemaking, because it complicates the application of existing control methods in the field of taxation. A separate category of problems is also the phenomenon of decentralized finance («DeFi»), which eliminates intermediaries not only from the basic operations of moving virtual assets, but also from more complex economic operations, such as credit activities, loans, collateral, derivative contracts, etc. Considering the above, the relevance of the research lies in the emergence of qualitatively new categories of social relations, which, like any other social and economic relations, require legal regulation. Currently available regulatory instruments are not able to fully cover all the variety of operations with virtual assets, and to provide appropriate, special regulation of them.
The purpose of writing this article isto analyze the validity and legal protection of buying and selling certified land in the form of non-fungible tokens through a marketplace application. This study uses a normative juridical method with a statutory and regulatory approach and a contextual approach. Buying and selling certified land in the form of non-fungible tokens through a marketplace application is a policy reconstruction that can be realized. The sale and purchase of certified land in the form of non-fungible tokens through the marketplace application has fulfilled the legal requirements for a sale and purchase agreement as regulated in Article 1320 of the Civil Code and Article 46 paragraph (2) of Government Regulation Number 71 of 2019, namely the existence of agreement, skill , objects and causes that do not conflict with morality, consent and laws and regulations. The legal protection that can be provided to the parties is preventive legal protection in the form of an electronic land certificate represented in the form of a non-fungible toke
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The contemporary urban landscape delineates a departure from traditional descriptors and historic anchors, propelled by a confluence of pervasive distributed digital systems. The entanglement of the spatial internet, Web3, APIs, digital twins, real-time data, and analogous platform technologies is pivotal, enmeshing, and orchestrating interactions within urban domains. The influence of network technologies ripples across multifaceted dimensions, shaping navigation, mobility, and service provisioning. Recursive feedback mechanisms and algorithms such as ratings, reviews, suggestions, and recommendations collectively catalyse the attention economy and choice architectures through categorising individual preferences. It is an emergent landscape where the technological infrastructures permeate, not just as tools, but as mediums intertwining with the fabric of societal existence, cultural expression, and urban architecture. The 'Post-Cadastral' condition establishes and explores a domain of urban and architectural invention - a city's imminent escape from cadastral space, embracing virtual realms and digital ubiquity. It is concerned with the hyper-reality of virtual space as mooring of invisible cultural, economic, and societal forces. The domain of research operates at limits of material and spatial practice, integrating the physical, the virtual and holographic; and engaging with real-time, urban data analytics, simulation, gamification, techno-cultural discourse and narrative, AI, and generative techniques. The research explores the convergence of augmented urban infrastructures and services, delineating the interwoven threads of value generation (value capture), behavioural shifts, and performance metrics. It unpacks the emergent paradigm where cities, unleashed from historical cartographic constraints, traverse fluid territories shaped by the synergistic forces of digital evaluations and algorithmic orchestration. In this epochal shift, urban spaces transmute into arenas where cadastral limitations yield to an amorphous terrain of digital augmentation and evolving spatial imaginaries. This paper scrutinizes the intricate interplay of web-centric reviews, ratings, comments, and AI-driven algorithms that organise a departure from conventional urban spatiality - a city abstracted by search terms and contained in the comments sections and sorted by popularity. Delving into this labyrinth, it dissects the convergence of diverse valuation systems, nuanced behavioural patterns, and algorithmically mediated decision-making processes, illuminating the evolving dynamics within contemporary urban environments. Through projects, bespoke workflows, and methodologies, its objective resides in rendering discernible precise pathways wherein technological transitions become etched within the urban continuum, consequently integrated within the realms of architectural practice.
For over a decade, digital modelling has transcended geometric representations to more advanced object-based modelling using real-life attirbutes. Digital technologies, especially Building Information Modelling (BIM) have been widely adopted in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry, while a newer niche - City Information Modelling (CIM) has emerged as an extension of BIM for urban informatics. This research proposes a framework that integrates heterogeneous CIM using a multi-level, nested data environment. The CIM is developed through a network of BIM models synchronized into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) interface. The individual BIM models are blockchain-enabled by connecting them to a distributed ledger and shared across a network of project collaborators using a Common Data Environment (CDE) in a Building Level Framework.. The resulting CIM from the network of BIM models is shared between the asset owners in a City Level Framework. Use case scenarios are presented to illustrate the application of the research in real life, and research limitations are discussed. The study aims to improve management of buildings and urban assets, providing a more efficient and secure platform for collaboration and data sharing through a blockchain-CIM integration, providing opportunities for further research in digital modelling and smart technologies.
For over a decade, digital modelling has transcended geometric representations to more advanced object-based modelling using real-life attirbutes. Digital technologies, especially Building Information Modelling (BIM) have been widely adopted in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry, while a newer niche - City Information Modelling (CIM) has emerged as an extension of BIM for urban informatics. This research proposes a framework that integrates heterogeneous CIM using a multi-level, nested data environment. The CIM is developed through a network of BIM models synchronized into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) interface. The individual BIM models are blockchain-enabled by connecting them to a distributed ledger and shared across a network of project collaborators using a Common Data Environment (CDE) in a Building Level Framework.. The resulting CIM from the network of BIM models is shared between the asset owners in a City Level Framework. Use case scenarios are presented to illustrate the application of the research in real life, and research limitations are discussed. The study aims to improve management of buildings and urban assets, providing a more efficient and secure platform for collaboration and data sharing through a blockchain-CIM integration, providing opportunities for further research in digital modelling and smart technologies.
Land registry system denotes to the system that records the particulars of land ownership rights by government bodies. The deposited record can be used as the proof on right and avoid any sort of scam. The aim of this work is to use decentralized system to increase the consistency of land registration and storage of property records based on ownership hierarchy. The system architecture is proposed and implemented here supported with dashboard for land contact owner, land inspector and users. Land inspectors dash board contains various operations like verification of user, land and transfer of property from one user to another user. Similarly, user dashboard contains entry of user details for registration, add land details, land gallery, send request to buy and received request for sale. Here, a consensus algorithm is employed to make nodes in a network like users, land registrar to reach a common agreement about the present state of the distributed ledger. Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm is utilized to authorize the blocks. The validators will confirm blocks by keeping a bet on them if they notice a block that can be added to the chain. SHA256 is a cryptographic hashing algorithm used which converts an input of arbitrary length into a fixed-size output and is utilized to generate addresses of blocks created when transaction happens. The system is working well as intended with respect to various operations.
In the upcoming era of distributed technological integration known as Web3, the built environment will need to adapt. Solving the most significant social, environmental and economic challenges will likely require new approaches to data sharing and efficient data management. This will need to occur within organizations, across software tools, and between partners. However, today’s approach of data fragmentation and a scattered system of data islands prevent efficient data usage in the construction industry.The question that now arises is whether the decentralized marketplace approach has the potential to make construction data sets more uniform, efficient,and usable for all stakeholders through distributed technological integration.Therefore, this paper’s contribution isto provide a conceptual starting point and possible research stream approach towards thisquestion. Doing so by outlining current data management challenges and discussing themin comparison with already existing web3 approaches in research and industry.
The origins of digital money and blockchain technology goes back to the 1980s, but in the last decade, the blockchain technology gained large popularity in the financial sector with the appearance of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. However, recently, many other fields of application have been recognized, particularly with the development of smart contracts. Among them is the possible application of blockchain technology in the domain of land administration, mostly as a tool for transparency in the developing countries and means to fight corruption. However, developed countries also find interest in launching pilot projects to test their applicability in land administration domain for reasons such as to increase the speed and reduce costs of the real property transactions through a more secure environment. In this paper, we analyse how transactions are handled in Serbian land administration and how this process may be supported by modern ledger technologies such as blockchain. In order to analyse how blockchain could be implemented to support transactions in land information systems (LIS), it is necessary to understand cadastral processes and transactions in LIS, as well as legislative and organizational aspects of LIS. Transactions in cadastre comprise many actors and utilize both alphanumeric (descriptive or legal) data and geospatial data about property boundaries on the cadastral map. Based on the determined requirements for the blockchain-based LIS, we propose a system architecture for its implementation. Such a system keeps track of transactions in LIS in an immutable and tamper-proof manner to increase the security of the system and consequently increase the speed of transactions, efficiency, and data integrity without a significant impact on the existing laws and regulations. The system is anticipated as a permissioned public blockchain implemented on top of the Ethereum network.
Long Finance’s Distributed Futures research programme is pleased to announce the release of its first three approaches to ‘geo-stamping’, along with a short guide. Time-stamping is an important part of Smart Ledgers (aka block-chains with embedded code), an authoritative record of the time of a transaction. Geo-stamping is a mirror image, an authoritative record of the location of a transaction. Geo-stamping = time-stamping + geo-location information.
Long Finance’s Distributed Futures research programme has an open source project, “GeoGnomo” to research and share methods for geo-stamping. Geo-stamping benefits from having memorable ways of recording areas that also aid efficient retrieval. GeoGnomo has built-to-share three approaches for recording areal information, a Quaternary Triangular System, a Quaternary Rectangular System, and a Variable Rectangular System for geo-stamping. Each can be used to record geographic areas into a block-chain.
GeoGnomo provides source code and an online translation from latitude & longitude areas to geo-codes and back. Thus, block-chain applications have almost an instant ‘global post code’ or ‘global zip code’ system. By using consistent geo-coding data retrieval is easier. Users can share information easily – “tell the drone to come to F49PUR9B7-20”, a resolution of 7.6 metres.
This report was commissioned by the Cardano Foundation in November 2017 and is one of the first outputs from a series of projects in the Distributed Futures research programme. Michael Parsons, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, comments “Geo-stamping and time-stamping are two of the most important functions of Smart Ledgers. Our sponsorship of Distributed Future’s GeoGnomo project is directed at sharing mechanisms for geo-stamping that are memorable, aggregable, proximable, and scalable.”