Model driven architecture engineered land administration in conformance with international standards – illustrated with the Hellenic Cadastre

Authors: Styliani Psomadaki, Efi Dimopoulou and Peter van Oosterom

DOI: 10.1186/s40965-016-0002-3

How to cite:
Psomadaki, S., Dimopoulou, E., & van Oosterom, P. (2016). Model driven architecture engineered land administration in conformance with international standards–illustrated with the Hellenic Cadastre. Open Geospatial Data, Software and Standards, 1(3).

Information:
Land Administration Systems (LAS) emerge from the very old times, especially when the management of land becomes more complex [1]. The need for better land administration (LA) and the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) demanded a new approach in the LA domain. Cadastre, as an integral component of LA, was also faced with a new role and vision. The International Federation of Surveyor’s (FIG) - Cadastre 2014, proposed six statements on the development of Cadastres, thus initiating a mid- to long-term vision [2]. Other approaches include the Spatial Data Infrastructures [3, 4], Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community, 3D Cadastres [5], the Land Administration Domain Model [6] and the Social Tenure Domain Model [7, 8]. Behind those approaches, the concepts of standardisation and interoperability are hidden. The former is needed for the optimal operation of LAS, both digital and paper based, while Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) cannot be achieved without the latter.

The Hellenic Cadastre (HC) is an ongoing process with the first actual attempts dating back to 1995. The development of the HC model was not initially based on international standards, practically dealing with issues concerning real property rights in Greece. Furthermore, until 2010, geographic information created by different agencies was characterized by case specific format and limited permission to exchange due to the existing framework and the inadequate cooperation between data producers [9]. This makes the need for a unified cadastral model not limited to specific organisations and software of great importance. In such a situation, standards should be utilized during the whole process.

The Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) became an international standard (ISO 19152), and was formally published on the 1st of December 2012. In 2013 LADM was, announced as a standard by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). LADM as a reference model provides a conceptual schema for spatial and non-spatial LA data elements. The LADM aims to provide an extensible basis for the development and refinement of efficient and effective land administration systems, based on Model Driven Architecture (MDA), and to enable involved parties, both within one country and between different countries, to communicate, based on the shared vocabulary implied by the model [10].

Another initiative that deals with standardization and interoperability issues of LA within a cross-border environment is the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE), which contributes to the development of the European Spatial Data Infrastructure initially for the purposes of Community environmental policies and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment. Greece as a member of the European Union is obliged to harmonise its existing datasets to match the requirements of INSPIRE.

This paper provides a conceptual model (country profile) in conformance with multiple standards (Annex A of ISO 19152 and INSPIRE Cadastral Parcels) and a way to automatically convert it to a technical model using MDA is examined.

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