Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) support for subdivision phase of land readjustment: A case study from Turkey

Abstract

Land readjustment (LR) is a zoning implementation that has various components. When the methods of zoning plan implementations are examined, even if these implementations have common parts, they can vary from one country to another in a juridical frame. LR used as a land transition tool for many years in Turkey, sometimes causes a number of problems. Especially, at the phase of subdivision-distribution-allocation which is the important part of the process, the implementation can be annulled by the courts because of the implementer’s failures. Using geographical data obtained with usual terrestrial measuring technique can be seen one of the most important reason of this problem. The aim of this study is that, supporting of the subdivision phase of LR implementation via orthophoto and digital elevation model (DEM) generated by photogrammetric methods. So, a pilot area was selected and a sample LR implementation was executed. Land related up-to-date information and data were obtained via Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). So, it is seen that additional data generated using orthophoto and DEM, increased the accuracy of subdivision process and contributed to the right decision making. Besides, this approach which does not require additional land exploration, is useful in both time and cost. Also, this study shows that, if the UAV technology is used appropriately, its solutions can make significant contributions in the field of land management.