The land development approval process between local authorities and government land and planning departments is manual, time consuming and resource intensive. For example, when new land subdivisions, new roads and road naming, and administrative boundary changes are requested, approval and changes to spatial datasets are needed. The land developer submits plans, usually on paper, and a number of employees use rules, constraints and policies to determine if such plans are acceptable. This paper presents an approach using Semantic Web and Artificial Intelligence techniques to automate the decision-making process in Australian jurisdictions. Feedback on the proposed plan is communicated to the land developer in real-time, thus reducing process handling time for both developer and the government agency. The Web Ontology Language is used to represent relationships between different entities in the spatial database schema. Rules on geometry, policy, naming conventions, standards and other aspects are obtained from government policy documents and subject-matter experts and described using the Semantic Web Rule Language. Then when the developer submits an application, the software checks the rules against the request for compliance. This paper describes the proposed approach and presents a case study that deals with new road proposals and road name approvals.

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ABSTRACT:This paper describes current research into the supply of spatial data to the end user in as close to real time as possible via the World Wide Web. The Spatial Data Infrastructure paradigm has been discussed since the early 1990s. The concept has evolved significantly since then but has almost always examined data from the perspective of the supplier. It has been a supplier driven focus rather than a user driven focus. The current research being conducted is making a paradigm shift and looking at the supply of spatial data as a supply chain, similar to a manufacturing supply chain in which users play a significant part. A comprehensive consultation process took place within Australia and New Zealand incorporating a large number of stakeholders. Three research projects that have arisen from this consultation process are examining Spatial Data Supply Chains within Australia and New Zealand and are discussed within this paper.