The advent of digital technology in the fourth industrial revolution has influenced virtually every aspect of life and endeavours. Urban development in the face of economic expansion and globalisation has been rapid considering the explosion in human population and urbanisation phenomenon coupled with the insatiable desire to utilise land resources for various purposes offering the highest and best uses.
Land use in urban centers has been intensified over time due to high pressure emerging from residential, commercial and industrial activities whose unchecked growth and development have created unplanned settlements such as sprawl, ghetto, slums and even environmental degradation and pollution.
The adequate management of urban land has been a huge task for policy makers in the built environment. Several efforts made towards the governance and regulation of land uses have not been so successful due to lack of adequate database on present and proposed land development.
The low adaptation of modern technology in most developing countries has been the main factor limiting the effective monitoring and regulation of urban growth. Public policy on land use is best when approached from the aspects of improved land information system (LIS) that is based on the employment of automatic systems capable of collecting, processing, storing and retrieving data swiftly.
The fixity of land in a specific geographic location at a given point in time makes it unique and renders it impossible for a person to be present in two or more lands at the same time. In the absence of innovative geospatial technology for land management, the regulation of land uses becomes challenging.
The traditional methods of gathering data through manual entry and recording have not been very helpful in recent times where enormous information about land is required. Information entered manually are mostly subjected to losses, damages and errors that are not easy to fix. The analogue system of managing land is time consuming and lack the ability for spontaneous geo-referencing.
Sustainable management of urban land to meet the existing and future needs will require the application of technology-enhanced systems such as the Geographic Information System (GIS) which incorporates the use of computers, networks, global positioning system (GPS) and satellite imagery for remote sensing.
Geographic information system as an emerging technology with a wide range of application offers the possibility of developing electronic database having the capacity to analyse and produce schematic maps of the urban environment without wasting time.
The timely retrieval of data on land and the visualisation of various land uses enables decision makers formulate action plans together with policies that are sound and aligns with the physical reality on ground. Professionals in the land related discipline should embrace the role of technology in the management of land in the natural and built environment.
Information on land trends and market demand should be collected from registered estate firms having reliable data on land and properties in urban centers. Estate surveyors and valuers as trained land economist constantly engaged in market survey and analysis could offer valuable information on urban land so as to facilitate informed management decision for the fast growing demand of cities in Nigeria.
Esv. Opayemi Adedoyin Oyenike (ANIVS, RSV),
Lands & Housing Development Department, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Mabushi, Abuja [email protected]
