This project will test the concept of changing the way we determine land boundaries away from individual, unconnected surveys and towards a method that is anchored in GPS coordinates. The participants in the project will explore the legal barriers and opportunities for making this change; conduct a survey using actual GIS coordinates; and create an illustrative visualization of a web-based tool that conveys coordinate-based boundary information. The outcome of this project will determine the feasibility of moving to a coordinate-based system and the steps necessary, both legal and technological.
News/Updates
The project team has made significant progress towards fulfilling its goal of exploring the potential of GPS/GIS technologies in improving the accuracy and accessibility of property records. A white paper is currently being drafted to address the relevant legal and strategic barriers and opportunities for implementing coordinate-based surveying methods. A coordinate-based survey in a rural downtown area of Vermont has been scheduled for late October, as is an analysis of its implications for similar, future surveys in Kansas City. The team has also begun designing an illustrative visualization of a web-based tool to view coordinate-based land boundaries.
Opportunities for a coordinate-based land surveying system (2017)