Land Demarcation Systems

Abstract

Land demarcation systems are ancient human artifacts and are fundamental to property law and property markets. In this chapter we develop an economic framework for examining systems of land demarcation and examine the economic history of demarcation in the United States and beyond. We focus on metes and bounds and rectangular systems – the two dominate land demarcation methods. We examine the various patterns of demarcation used in the U.S. and describe how a centralized rectangular system became dominant in large parts of the U.S. as well as in commercial urban subdivisions. We also show rectangular systems have been adopted in parts of Canada and Australia and cities in other parts of the world. We consider how a decentralized system of land claiming would generate patterns of land holdings that would be unsystematic and depend on natural topography and the characteristics of the claimant population. We then show how a centralized, rectangular system generates different ownership patterns and incentives for land use, land markets, investment, and border disputes. We illustrate some empirical findings from an analysis of metes and bounds in the Virginia Military District of Ohio.