Article of the Month - 
	  July 2012
     | 
   
 
  	    3D Cadastre in the Federal Countries of Latin America
		
		Diego Alfonso ERBA and Mario Andrés PIUMETTO, Argentina
		
		
		1)  This paper was presented 
		at the FIG Working Week 2012 in Rome Italy, and the main question asked 
		is: Is it realistic to develop spatial concepts for parcels and legal 
		land objects and to propose a 3D cadastral model in the federal 
		countries of Latin America at this time? The conclusion indicates that 
		this is the right time to start thinking about it, compiling the 
		legislation and systematizing the 2D definitions as a first step. Latin 
		America occupies approximately 15% of the Earth's land surface and 
		therefore a focus on this continent is appropriate. The next FIG 
		Regional Conference will therefore take place in Uruguay, 26-29 November 
		2012, with emphasis on the challenges of the region.  
		Key words: 3D Cadastre, Federal Countries Cadastre, Latin 
		America 
		SUMMARY 
		Latin America is a vast region of the world, occupying approximately 
		15% of the Earth's land surface. The 20 countries that compose it have 
		around 400 regional governments (states or provinces) and 16,000 local 
		governments. The region is characterized by a variety of races, 
		landscapes, languages and dialects, climates, history and political 
		systems, in which only 4 countries are governed under federalist 
		regimes. In this system the power is divided among the national, 
		regional and/or local governments, with Constitutions that define each 
		level´s attributions. Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, together, 
		have 65% of the region’s population and a similar percentage of surface 
		area of Latin America. 
		 
		The concepts of parcels, their identification and description, the 
		extension of the properties, the restrictions of property rights, and 
		many other aspects related to the cadastre are different. This paper 
		compares the cadastral structure and the registration of land right in 
		the federal countries of Latin America, describes the main existing 
		legal land objects in the legislation, and provides a perspective for 
		implementation of a 3D Cadastral system for each of them, under the 
		legal vision. 
		  
		1. INTRODUCTION 
		In most Latin American countries, the cadastral systems were created 
		under the orthodox physical-economic-legal models imported from Spain 
		and Portugal. In recent years, the multipurpose cadastral model has been 
		gaining acceptance in the region as a new alternative, better suited to 
		the needs of administrators and the public. The spread and gradual 
		implementation of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) in the region is a 
		sign of the willingness to share data and investments among different 
		institutions. 
		 
		The question that inspired this paper was: Is it realistic to develop 
		spatial concepts for parcels and legal land objects and to propose a 3D 
		cadastral model in the federal countries of Latin America at this time? 
		 
		The conclusion indicates that this is the right time to start thinking 
		about it, compiling the legislation and systematizing the 2D definitions 
		as a first step. 
		  
		2. CADASTRAL ORGANIZATION IN THE LATIN AMERICAN FEDERAL COUNTRIES
		 In
		Argentina there is no single system, as the provinces never 
		delegated the cadastral function to the federal government. In fact, one 
		interesting feature of the Argentine system is that, although the 
		country has a National Cadastral Law and a Federal Cadastral Council 
		that establishes general guidelines, each federative body has its own 
		provincial cadastral law and specific regime. Therefore, the provinces 
		organize their territorial cadastres to identify the physical, economic 
		and legal aspects of the parcels, and use that data to define their land 
		tax policies. In parallel, some municipalities organize their urban 
		cadastres with the main goal of enforcing planning standards, mainly as 
		it pertains to the subdivision of land, and use that data to define the 
		service fees collection policies. The connection between the municipal 
		and provincial cadastres is made at different levels around the country. 
		In
		Brazil, federalism has a particular connotation when it comes to 
		managing territorial information. While the rural cadastre is organized 
		by the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform, which is 
		part of the central government, and is therefore centralized (although 
		distributed around the country), local governments organize their 
		municipal cadastres with ample authority and independence, focusing 
		mainly on the cities. Given the enormous diversity of criteria, and as 
		an alternative for the municipalities that lack the needed human, 
		technical and financial resources, the Ministry of Cities has published 
		National Guidelines for the Creation of a Multipurpose Cadastre which – 
		although lacking the force of law – guide technical and administrative 
		personnel through cadastral restructuring.  
		In
		Mexico, public information on real estate is obtained from 
		cadastres and registries. As there were inconsistencies in many cases, 
		some states decided to place both institutions under the same roof (in 
		some cases only “legally”, in others “physically”). Neither the Federal 
		Constitution nor any statute mandates a cadastral function. The 
		attributions given to municipalities by Art. 115 of the Carta Magna, 
		induced some local governments to set up cadastres, and so did at least 
		half the states in the country. Therefore, we can identify 3 basic 
		systems: The cadastres that are completely centralized at the state 
		level; the state cadastres that have been decentralized to the 
		municipalities; and the state cadastres that work in parallel with the 
		municipal cadastres. The social property created by the Mexican 
		revolution is managed by the National Agrarian Registry, which can be 
		considered a form of rural cadastral registry. The recent creation of 
		the Mexican Cadastral Institute (Instituto Mexicano de Catastro) and the 
		Mexican Society of Assessors and Cadastral Management Specialists 
		(Sociedad Mexicana de Especialistas en Valuación y Gestión Catastral) 
		opens up the possibility of establishing clear criteria and goals, 
		matched to the facts on the ground. 
		In
		Venezuela, the Geography, Cartography and National Cadastral Law 
		establishes guidelines to restructure the country’s cadastres. According 
		to this law, Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Geographic Institute directs, 
		coordinates and executes policies and plans for the creation and 
		maintenance of cadastres throughout the country, and Municipal Cadastral 
		Offices are obligated to organize their cadastre following these 
		national directives. Many times, the various limitations of local 
		governments to create and maintain a cadastre make this task impossible, 
		so the Institute provides support, mainly by developing joint projects 
		and collaborating to obtain resources from the pertinent public 
		agencies, without precluding the participation of the private sector. 
		Figure 1 shows a 
		comparison of the cadastral organization of the four federal countries. 
		
		  
		Figure 1 
		1consulting institutions, 2institutions with cadastral 
		functions 3 for social land property 
		  
		3. PERSPECTIVES OF A 3D CADASTRE IN LATIN AMERICA  
		The conceptualization of a 3D cadastral model requires a clear 
		understanding of the physical occupancy of the territory and the current 
		legal framework. Regarding the urban aspect, the virtualization of the 
		different existing cities in the region is essential because it allows 
		us to analyze how 3D parcels can be defined, represented and described; 
		and how the 3D legal land objects restrict them.  
		This understanding is crucial to the development of a 3D structure for 
		the cadastres of the Latin American federal countries, and their 
		relationships with 3D land registries as well as the 3D land use 
		restrictions laws. 
		 
		3.1 Virtual 3D Cities in Latin America 
		 
		Among the different realities and technological levels of Latin American 
		countries, there are interesting experiences indicating that development 
		of 3D urban cadastral models in the region is possible in the median 
		term. 
		Entering the 3D world could start with the creation of different virtual 
		3D cities. In the context of this paper, a “virtual 3D” city is the real 
		(built) city which, represented geometrically, is useful in several 
		types of analyses, such as vehicular traffic studies, tracking of cell 
		phone waves, or any type of infrastructure network analysis. For other 
		kinds of analysis the virtual 3D city it is not sufficient, as when a 
		lawyer may need to visualize the legal 3D city as defined by urban and 
		environmental regulations. Figure 2 shows two virtual 3D cities, one 
		representing existing formal buildings and the other indicating the 
		legal city according to its development potential based on the 
		applicable urban regulations. 
		 
		  
		
		Figure 2 – Representations of the Virtual 3D 
		formal city and the Virtual 3d legal city 
		Note: The existing buildings on the left are incorporated into an 
		expanded legal city on the right. Source: prepared by Diego Erba and 
		Anamaria Gliesch-Leebmann. 
		In 
		Latin America, where the incidence of urban informality is practically a 
		constant in the urban landscape, it is important to visualize and define 
		the informal as well as the legal 3D virtual city. Every “occupied 
		space” is a part of the city and should be considered in the urban data 
		bases of the cadastre. 
		
		Informal settlements develop when people are unable to save money or 
		obtain access to credit to purchase a home or are ineligible to receive 
		government assistance through housing programs. They must find a place 
		to settle, which is often on hazardous or protected land that is 
		inappropriate for housing, or on vacant public or private land. The 
		magnitude of the need for housing often surpasses the amount of land 
		available, thus pushing informal settlers to build taller structures at 
		higher densities that in many ways are similar to those in the formal 
		housing market (figure 3). 
		
		  
		Figure 3 - 
		Improvised housing units in an informal settlement in Caracas, Venezuela 
		Source: © Martim Smolka; rendering by Diego Erba. 
		
		Urban properties and their surroundings are conditioned by different 
		kinds of restrictions described by legal land objects. 
		
		3.2 Legal Land Objects in the federal countries of 
		Latin America 
		The 
		concept of a land object arose with the “cadastre 2014” model as a piece 
		of land in which homogeneous conditions (normally defined by law) exist 
		within its boundaries. The definition affirms that if a law defines 
		phenomena, rights, or restrictions related to a fixed area or point of 
		the surface of the Earth, it defines a land object - LO.  
		
		Incorporating legal aspects, the concept was extended, to affirm that a 
		piece of land could be called a legal land object - LLO, when either a 
		private or a public law imposes identical juridical parameters. The laws 
		define the limits of a right or a restriction. The LLO normally is 
		defined by boundaries which demarcate where a right or a restriction 
		ends and where the next begins, and everything that right encompasses.
		 
		The 
		definitions are clear only for a 2D dimension connotation. Some examples 
		of the LLO mentioned in the document confirm this vision: private 
		property parcels; areas where traditional rights exist; administrative 
		units such as countries, states, districts, and municipalities; zones 
		for the protection of water and nature and for protection against  
		noise and pollution; land use zones;  areas where the exploitation 
		of natural resources is allowed, etc. 
		The 
		construction of the 3D LLO concept can be based on the 2D definition, 
		and that is the reason why this study started identifying the legal 
		framework which describes the LLO in the federal countries. 
		It 
		is not common to find the terms LO or LLO in Latin American legislation. 
		In Argentina, the National Cadastral Law No. 26.209 defines “legal 
		object” as any portion of the territory that by nature and means of 
		access is finite and homogeneous. A “legal land object” (objeto 
		territorial legal) is one that is generated by a legal cause. This legal 
		cause may be a property title (as is the case in real estate 
		transactions), an ordinance or law (as is the case in ownership 
		restrictions, the creation of reservation areas, or the demarcation of 
		an urban area), or even an international treaty (such as those that 
		establish borders between countries). The law stipulates that all LLOs, 
		and their public records, must be managed by the provincial cadastres.
		 
		In 
		the rest of the Latin American countries, the definition of LLOs is not 
		as explicit as in Argentina, but proof of their existence can be seen in 
		substantive and ancillary legislation. 
		We 
		describe below 5 subject areas that meet the LLO definition in 4 Latin 
		American countries. 
		
		3.2.1 
		Environmental spaces and surroundings  
		In
		Argentina, the National Law No. 25.509/2001 established a real 
		estate right to a forested area. It is conveyed separately from land 
		ownership, and allows somebody to plant in another parcel, but keep 
		ownership of what was planted. In addition, it allows for the purchase 
		of existing plantations in parcels that belong to others. This is a 
		temporary right, with a maximum duration of 50 years, and can be 
		canceled if it is not used for 3 or more years. This right is granted by 
		contract and must be recorded in the Registry of Deeds. 
		
		Argentina is the only country where glaciers can be found. The National 
		Law No. 26.639 of 2008 places restrictions for the conservation of 
		glaciers and the peri-glacial environment. Art. 3 creates a National 
		Glacier Inventory, with useful information to protect, control and 
		monitor glaciers. Art. 4 stipulates that the National Glacier Inventory 
		shall contain information about each glacier and its peri-glacial 
		environment classified by hydrologic watershed, location, area and 
		morphology. The inventory must be updated at least every 5 years, and 
		capture the changes in the glacier surface and its peri-glacial 
		environment. This last article stipulates, among others, the obligation 
		to measure the surface of the glacier and monitor it periodically to 
		determine any changes in its size. This law does not make any volumetric 
		references, even though it would be particularly interesting to study 
		changes in glaciers over time. 
		In
		Brazil, the environmental legislation has a large scope. Two 
		areas are highlighted within the context of this work, which are still 
		defined under the 2D vision: legal reserve, and permanent protection 
		areas. 
		
		According to the Forestry Code (Act No. 4771/1965), a legal reserve is 
		an area located within a rural property or land, except for a permanent 
		protection area, which is necessary for the sustainable use of natural 
		resources, the conservation and restoration of ecological processes, the 
		conservation of biodiversity, and the preservation and protection of 
		native fauna and flora (section 1, §2º, III). Therefore, a legal reserve 
		is a portion of a rural property whose owner or possessor commits 
		him/herself to preserve the native vegetation. The vegetation of a legal 
		reserve cannot be eliminated, although the owner may use it under the 
		sustainable forestry management regime, as per the applicable legal 
		principles and technical-scientific criteria (section 16, §2º). 
		 
		
		Permanent protection areas are protected by the Forestry Code. They may 
		or may not be covered by native vegetation, and have the environmental 
		function of preserving water resources, landscapes, geological 
		stability, biodiversity, and fauna and flora gene flows, as well as 
		protecting the soil, and securing the well-being of human populations 
		(section 1,  §2º, II). These areas are characterized as such 
		regardless of their location, the use of the property or their 
		ownership, since they can be public or private properties. Some examples 
		of permanent protection areas are: the margins of any water courses (a 
		land portion varying from 30 meters to 500 meters); natural springs 
		(within a 50-meter radius); the top of hills, mountains and ranges; and 
		hillsides with over 45% slope. 
		In
		Mexico, protection of environmental areas is governed by the laws 
		of “Environmental Equilibrium and Environmental Protection” and 
		“Sustainable Forest Development”. In both cases, the legislation imposes 
		no restrictions on property, nor does it establish special regimes for 
		forests or open spaces that limit property rights and are subject to 
		real registration.  Nonetheless, both laws establish a broad set of 
		regulations and mechanisms related to zoning that contribute to regulate 
		use of these resources. For correct administration of this information, 
		it must be included in a spatial database as well as in the country’s 
		cadastral databases. An exception to this rule in the Federal District 
		(Mexico City) is the District Environmental Law, which establishes that 
		such restrictions must be registered in the Public Property Registry 
		(art. 98). 
		In
		Venezuela, the Forest and Forestry Management Law (Decree 
		6070/2008) restricts the use of properties that have certain native 
		forests or are registered for forest use by the applicable authorities. 
		In no case are these considered unused or unproductive land, so no 
		compensation can be claimed, and they can only be expropriated in 
		exceptional cases. In addition, the law establishes “ecological 
		easements” in perpetuity over the parcels located in “protection zones” 
		and “forestry reserve areas,” as defined by the applicable authorities, 
		and the landowners are responsible for identifying these easements on 
		their land and recording them in their property titles. A special case 
		of ecological easement is the “protection zones of mountain and mesa 
		ranges”, which are strips of at least 300 meters on each side of 
		mountain ranges and inclined mesa slopes. (ref. art. 21, 22, 32, 33, 35, 
		39 a 42) 
		3.2.2 Water resources and 
		their surroundings  
		In
		Argentina the restriction to private ownership around rivers is 
		established in Article 2639 of the Civil Code. This towpath is defined 
		as a 35 meter strip measured from the shore of navigable waterways 
		toward the interior of adjoining properties. No compensation can be 
		claimed for this area, and it implies a hands-off or non-interference 
		obligation.  
		In
		Brazil, there are differences in the restrictions related to the 
		sea and the navigable lakes and rivers. The “terrenos de marinha” (Union 
		sea-land properties) are those areas which, washed by sea or navigable 
		river waters, reach up to 33 meters into the land, counted as from the 
		mean high water point. This point refers to the condition of the place 
		at the time of execution of section 51, §14 of the Act enacted on 
		11/15/1831 (section 13 of the Water Code, Executive Order No. 
		24.643/1934). These are public properties, i.e., such land portion is 
		not part of the private property. The “terrenos reservados” (reserved 
		lands) are those which possess navigable currents out of the reach of 
		tides, which reach a 15-meter distance, measured horizontally towards 
		the land from the median line of ordinary floods (section 14 of the 
		Water Code). Generally, the reserved lands on the shores of lakes and 
		navigable rivers belong to the states (Water Code – Executive Order 
		24,643/34, section 31), except when the river is owned by the Federal 
		Government, in which case the reserved land's title is owned by the 
		Union (section 31 of the Water Code, together with section 20, clause 
		III of the Federal Constitution). As in the case of Union sea-land 
		properties, reserved lands are not part of private properties. 
		 
		In
		Mexico, the “National Law on Water” complements Article 27 of the 
		Mexican Constitution on matters related to superficial or subsoil 
		national waters. The law foresees a towpath specifically called “Federal 
		Bank or Zone”, which must be 10 meters wide contiguous to the waterway, 
		measured horizontally from the maximum regular level of water. The 
		length of the federal bank or zone must be five meters in the river bed, 
		with a width no greater than five meters. 
		In
		Venezuela, the Waterways Law, in its Article 6, stipulates that 
		all waterways, inland, marine or insular, superficial or underground, 
		are in the country’s public domain. Strips of land 80 meters on each 
		side of non-navigable or intermittent rivers, and 100 meters on each 
		side of navigable rivers, are also in the public domain. 
		The 
		same law stipulates that, because these waterways are in the public 
		domain, they cannot be part of the private domain of any physical or 
		legal person. Underground waters are in adjacent domains: the state owns 
		the resources, while a private party may own the land, its airspace and 
		subsoil, except for situations that can only be managed in 3D space. 
		
		Article 54 of this law attempts to protect the sensitive areas on which 
		the water, plants and wildlife depend for their existence and quality, 
		by declaring certain lands part of “protected zones of water bodies.” 
		These zones restrict the domain - with no right to compensation – in: a) 
		a surface defined by a circumference with a 300 m radius projected 
		horizontally and centered in the source of any waterway; and b) a 300 m 
		strip on either side of rivers, measured from the edge of the high water 
		mark; and from the borders of lakes and natural lagoons. 
		
		  
		
		Figure 4 - Towpath 
		
		3.2.3 Underground spaces and concessions 
		 In Argentina the 
		Mining Code was established by Decree No. 456 of 1997. It regulates the 
		property of mines, and the rights of exploration and operation. In Art. 
		7, it stipulates that the mines are private assets of the Federal 
		Government or the Provinces, depending on their location. Art. 10 of the 
		Mining Code stipulates that “independently of the original ownership by 
		the State… the private property of the mines can be established by legal 
		grant”. This granting of mining rights can be interpreted as a mining 
		easement to the mining company. On the other hand, Art. 12 defines the 
		mines as real estate properties. Art.  20 establishes a mining 
		cadastre to describe the physical, legal, and other useful information 
		about mining rights. Those rights are identified with points that 
		represent the vertices of the “area” defined in the requests for 
		exploration permits, discovery manifests, etc. However, the Mining Code 
		does not mandate in any of its articles the volumetric representation of 
		the mineral to be explored.  
		In
		Brazil, according to the Federal Constitution, Article 176, 
		mining reserves, whether active or not, and other mineral resources and 
		the potential for hydroelectric power, are a type of property that is 
		different from the property of soil, for the purposes of exploitation or 
		use, and as such they belong to Brazil. However, the grantee has a right 
		to own the product that is mined from such area. Similar to the 
		Argentine Code, the Brazilian legislation does not provide any 
		information regarding volume. 
		In 
		Peru, mineral rights are established by Supreme Decree #014-92-EM 
		(Unified Text of the General Mining Act) and regulated by Supreme Decree 
		#03-94-EM. Section II of the Preliminary Title of this legislation 
		establishes that all mineral resources belong to the State, and that 
		this ownership is inviolable and inalienable. Act #26615 creates the 
		Mining Cadastre, whose unit of measure is the mineral right, a property 
		unlike land or the right of property under or over land, and therefore 
		is not the same as a parcel, as established in paragraphs 1 and 8 of 
		Article 885 of the Civil Code. The General Mining Act expressly states 
		in Article 9: “The concession of mining rights is a real estate property 
		distinct and separate from the parcel where said rights are located." 
		In
		Mexico, Article 12 of the Mining Law refers to the “mining lot” 
		and describes is using elements that reveal it as more of a “mining 
		space”. According to the law, it is a solid body of undefined depth, 
		delimited by vertical planes and whose upper limit is the surface of the 
		Earth, based on which the corresponding perimeter is determined. The 
		sides that make up the perimeter of the lot must be oriented 
		astronomically both North-South and East-West, and the longitude of each 
		side must be in multiples of one hundred meters, except when these 
		conditions cannot be met because the lot meets other mining lots. The 
		location of the mining lot is determined based on a fixed point in the 
		lot, called the starting point and connected with the perimeter of or 
		located on the lot. The description affirms that the link of the 
		starting point will preferably be perpendicular to any of the sides 
		(North-South or East-West) of the lot’s perimeter. Despite the fact that 
		their descriptions are not georeferenced, mining spaces clearly have a 
		vertical development.    
		In
		Venezuela, the Mining Law (Decree 295/1999) stipulates in Article 
		2 that mineral deposits of any kind belong to the country’s public 
		domain, and must be recorded in the Public Registry. The law describes 
		in detail how to distinguish the land from the subsoil where the mineral 
		deposits are stored; in its Article 10, it states: “for the purpose of 
		this Law, the earth’s crust is divided into two parts: the land, which 
		is the surface layer and the area below it affected by the work of the 
		landowner in activities other than mining; and the subsoil, which 
		extends indefinitely in depth from the point the land ends. The mining 
		activities in the subsoil do not generate compensation for the 
		landowner, except if they affect the land or other assets.” Article 26 
		defines an area of mining rights as “a pyramidal volume, whose base is a 
		rectangular horizontal plane measured in hectares, and whose vertices 
		and sides are oriented pursuant to a projection system adopted by a 
		competent authority”, and in Article 28: “the horizontal extension of 
		the mining rights shall be a rectangle defined by fixed points and 
		straight lines over the earth’s surface, whose surface unit is the 
		hectare (Ha.) Its vertical extension shall be defined by the projection 
		of this horizontal extension to the center of the Earth, with no depth 
		limit. 
		The right to explore and exploit mineral substances within the space 
		volume assigned constitutes a real estate right (Article 29) and must be 
		recorded in the Public Registry (Article 45).
		  
		Figure 5 - Underground spaces 
		
		3.2.4 
		Aerial space and use restrictions  
		In
		Argentina the Aeronautic Code was established by National Law No. 
		17.285 of 1967, and it describes the limitations to ownership of 
		property located close to airports. This Code defines the limits to 
		obstacles in the airspace in airports and their surrounding environment, 
		to ensure the secure landing and takeoff of aircraft. Although these 
		obstacles are by nature volumetric bodies, they are represented by their 
		surface projections on land. However, cross-sections are also enclosed 
		to describe the height over land over which the restriction extends. 
		In
		Brazil the Law 7,565 of 1986 regulates the Air Code. The 
		restrictions to which neighboring properties  of airports are 
		subject have to do with the use of such properties and the buildings, 
		premises, types of crops that can be farmed, and anything that may 
		hinder the operation of airplanes or cause interference to the radio 
		signals used to assist air traffic or block the visibility of visual 
		signs. 
		In
		Mexico, the Civil Aviation Law, in Chapter 1 – General 
		Provisions, Article 1 – defines the use or exploitation of the airspace 
		over the national territory for the purpose of providing and developing 
		civil and government air transportation. The law states that the 
		airspace over the national territory is a general communication pathway 
		subject to the domain of the Federal Government. The Civil Aviation Law 
		regulations define the events that may occur in the airspace, 
		emphasizing the importance of a 3D definition. 
		In
		Venezuela, the Civil Aeronautics Law of 2005 defines in its 
		Article 50 an “obstacle free surface” as the “slanted and horizontal 
		imaginary planes that extend over each airstrip or airport and its 
		surroundings, which can limit the height of the obstacles to airplane 
		circulation. The Aeronautic Authority shall establish in each case 
		obstacle free surfaces and the maximum height of construction and of any 
		other type of edification on the properties that, by their nature, may 
		present a potential risk to airline operations. These provisions 
		constitute another type of restriction to the property domain, a 
		geometric form that can be conveniently defined only in 
		three-dimensional space, and managed with a model with 3D 
		characteristics. 
		
		  
		 
		Figure 6 – Aerial space around airports 
		3.2.5 Urban restrictions 
		 
		In Argentina these types of restrictions are established by municipal 
		ordinance and have the goal of fostering coexistence among neighbors, 
		improving the general welfare and ensuring public health. Some of the 
		salient features of urban restrictions are the obligation of 
		noninterference and the lack of compensation for the affected property 
		owner. Some examples are: chamfered corners (for visibility), building 
		setbacks, recess of common walls between buildings, land use 
		regulations, street extensions, etc. 
		In Brazil, the municipalities regulate the use of urban soil. Given that 
		the potential for development is defined by the municipality, the air 
		space in which buildings stand belong to the State, which then 
		represents a clear and distinct difference between a Right to Build and 
		a Right to Own Property. This is being discussed by scholars and by the 
		industries that develop land policy in Latin American cities, and it is 
		a clear example of the importance of our starting to see the city as an 
		accumulation of 3D plots on which there is the intersection of private 
		and public interests. 
		In Venezuela, the Land Master Plan Law (Ley de Ordenamiento Territorial) 
		and the Urban Master Plan Law (Ley de Ordenamiento Urbano) (1983 and 
		1987, respectively, in their Title V), establish that the regulations 
		derived from the land and urban master plans, drawn pursuant to those 
		laws by the respective applicable authorities (in particular, 
		municipalities) impose legal limitations (restrictions) to the property 
		rights, as they regulate their use and exploitation. In particular, 
		Article 6 of the Land Master Plan Law stipulates that the plans shall 
		define for each zone “… corresponding use and regimen, as well as the 
		definition of volumes and densities” of construction. 
		 
		 
		4. CONCLUSIONS 
		 
		While the technologies used to measure, represent, and store information 
		are now evolving towards 3D platforms, urban legislation and land 
		policies continue to approach the city as a fat land surface.  
		To visualize the buildings and the restrictions imposed on properties in 
		3D is a considerable advancement for those responsible for urban 
		decision making. Nevertheless, there is a long way to go before 3D 
		information is integrated as part of urban legislation and property 
		titles. The consolidation of the 3D cadastre, which registers how 3D 
		parcels intersect with the corresponding legal norms and regulations, 
		would contribute to more effective urban and environmental planning, 
		infrastructure network design; and the prevention of informality by 
		permitting the construction of future scenarios showing the impact of 
		land policies in space. Changing the term “area” to “space” would be a 
		first step in giving urban and environmental legislation a 3D 
		connotation, and would be a simple and relevant way to start the process 
		of introducing the new paradigm. The structuring of a 3D property 
		registry is still under development, but when it is established 
		landowners will understand that they own cubic feet instead of square 
		feet. 
		 
		 
		
		Hand outs of presentation at FIG Working Week 2012 in Rome, Italy 
		 
		  
		REFERENCES 
		 
		Erba, Diego A. (2008) El catastro territorial en América Latina y el 
		Caribe. 2008. Cambridge, MA, USA, 2008. ISBN 978-85-906701-3-1. pg. 415 
		Available at: 
		http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs. 
		 
		Carneiro, A; Erba, D. & Augusto, E. (2011). Preliminary Analysis of the 
		Possibilities for the Implementation of 3D Cadastre in Brazil. 
		Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on 3D Cadastre. Delft, 
		Netherlands. Available at: 
		http://3dcadastres2011.nl/. 
		 
		Lagarda Lagarda Ignacio. (2009). El catastro. Ayuntamiento de 
		Hermosillo, Sonora, México. 
		 
		  
		AKNOWLEDGEMTNS 
		 
		The authors thank these partners and colleagues in the development of 
		research and publications in this fled of knowledge: Anamaria 
		Gliesch-Leebmann, Design Concepts 4 You, Seeheim-Jugenheim, Germany; 
		Andrea F. T. Carneiro, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil; 
		Eduardo A. A. Augusto, Brazilian Land Registry Institute (IRIB), São 
		Paulo, Brazil; Ignacio Lagarda, independent consultant on Cadastres in 
		Mexico; Leonardo Ruiz consultant on Cadastres and GIS in Venezuela; and 
		Martim Smolka, director of the Program on Latin America and the 
		Caribbean at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. 
		 
		  
		BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 
		 
		Diego A. Erba  
		Land Surveyor Engineering (Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina). 
		Master of Science in Remote Sensing (Universidade Federal de Santa 
		Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) and Master of Science in Multipurpose 
		Cadastres (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 
		Brazil). Doctor in Surveying Sciences (Universidad Nacional de 
		Catamarca, Argentina). He did Post Doctoral research in GIS on Water 
		Bodies at the Natural Resource Center of Shiga University, Otsu, Japan 
		and on GIS for Urban Applications at Clark Labs- IDRISI, Clark 
		University, Massachusetts, USA. Currently, he is a Fellow at the Lincoln 
		Institute of Land Policy, where he coordinates Distance Education 
		Programs and manages research projects on cadastres and GIS topics. 
		 
		Mario A. Piumetto 
		Land Surveyor (National University of Cordoba, Argentina). Postgraduate 
		studies in GIS, Remote Sensing and Cartography (University of Alcala de 
		Henares, Spain). Professor in the Masters in Environmental Engineering 
		at the National Technological University (2001-present) and in the 
		department of Labor Final race in Surveying Engineering, National 
		University of Cordoba (2008-present). Teaching Faculty in the Program 
		for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Lincoln Institute of Land 
		Policy (2005-present). He served as Director of the Municipal Cadastre 
		of Cordoba, Argentina, leading modernization projects in the areas of 
		Cartography and Land Valuations. Currently, he is a GIS specialist and 
		independent consultant. 
		CONTACTS 
		 
		Diego A. Erba 
		Lincoln Institute of Land Policy 
		113 Brattle Street,  
		Cambridge, MA 02138-3400  
		USA 
		Tel +1 617-661-3016 
		FAX +1 617-661-7235 
		E-mail: derba@lincolninst.edu 
		 
		Website: www.lincolninst.edu 
		 
		 
		Mario A. Piumetto 
		Universidad Nacional de Córdoba 
		Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales 
		Av. Vélez Sarsfield 1.610 – Ciudad Universitaria 
		FCEFN – UNC – CP 5.000 - Córdoba - Argentina. 
		Argentina 
		Tel +54 351 485-5505 
		E-mail: mpiumetto@yahoo.com.ar 
		 
		Website: 
		http://www.agrimensura.efn.uncor.edu/  
		 
		
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