BCM/BQS/BRE 201: Introduction to

Land
Surveying
Lecturer: Dr. Jacinta S. Kimuyu
Email: jacykimuyu@yahoo.com

Outline
Introduction: Brief history of land surveying and mapping,
Uses and branches of Surveying, Maps/plans and their scales,
Transition fron surveying and mapping to geoinformation
(GIS/RS/Photogrammetery/Cartography/Satellite Positioning,
Relevance of GIS/Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry in Real
Estate Management (site analysis, physical planning and
resource development);
Methods and Principles of Surveying: Basic principles,
Plane Cordinate
Systems, Basic Measurements, Methods of Surveying, Surveying
Equipment
(tapes, theodolite EDM, LEVEL, GPS, etc.); tape & offset
surveying, Traversing & Levelling: Equipment, Field Procedures,
Reduction of Measurements, Plotting of the Survey;

Application of land surveying in Real Estate

Management:
Measurements to existing structures & buildings, setting out of
roads, boundaries and new construction; production of survey
maps and plans.

Introduction
Course details:
one-semester-course
3 hours/week (equally divided between lectures and practicals)

RECOMMENDED TEXT BOOKS

Allan, A.L., (1997); Practical Surveying and Computations (Revised
Second Edition); Laxton.
Bannister, A. and Raymond, S., (1997); Surveying (Seventh Edition);
Longmann.

Davis, Foote, Anderson and Mikhail, (1968); Surveying, Theory and

Practice.
Schofied, W., (1998); Engineering Surveying (Fourth Edition);
Butterworth Heinemann.
Uren, J. and Price, W.F., (1994); Surveying for Engineers (Third
Edition); Macmillan.

Introduction

COUSE ASSESSMENT
Course Work
:
Continuous Assessment Test :
Examination
:
Total
:
Pass Mark
:

20
10
70
100
40/100

Outline

Introduction
Historical Surveying
Surveying - Science and
Profession
Methods of height
determination
Levelling
The surveyors level

Sz. Rzsa: Surveying I. Lecture 1

Historical Surveying
What is Surveying?
The art of making measurements of
the relative positions of natural and
man-made features on the Earths
surface, and the presentation of this
information either graphically or
numerically.

Since when?
The first surveying works date back to
the antiquity, the Greek provided the
first account of surveying techniques.
Euclid founded the theoretical
background for surveying by the
development of his geometry.

Sz. Rzsa: Surveying I. Lecture 1

Histori
cal
Surve
ying
Eratosthenes
( ca. 250 BC
)
Spherical Earth

Historic
al
Surveyi
ng

Surveying - Science and

Profession
Surveying vs. Geodesy
in most languages there are no
distinctions between the terms
in English (according to Vanicek Krakiwsky):
Surveying: the practice of positioning
Geodesy: the theoretical foundation of
surveying

Geodesy is the scientific background of

Surveying as a
profession.

Surveying - Science and

Profession
Surveying:

The art of making measurements of

the relative positions of natural and
man-made features on the Earths
surface, and the presentation of this
information either graphically or
numerically.

Geodesy:
Geodesy is the discipline that deals
with the measurements and
representation of the Earth,
including its gravity field, in a threedimensional time varying space.

Geodesy focus on the Earth and

neglect any man-made features on it
(e.g. buildings, public utilities, etc.),
while surveying use the results of
geodesy for positioning and mapping
of these features.

Basic principles of Surveying

Recall the
definition of
Surveying:
The art of making
measurements
of

The
positioning
is
usually
separated
into
horizontal
(2D)
and
vertical (1D) positioning.

either
Nowadays 3D positioning
can be achieved using
satellite
techniques,
too.

the relative positions of natural

and man-made features on the
Earths
surface,
and
the
presentation of this information
graphically or numerically.

How to achieve this?

Lets determine the position (XP,
YP) of point P!
Absolute vs Relative positioning
Y

XP

dBP

dAP

YP

(XB,YB)

Control points
( known coords
marked on the

(XA,YA)
l AB
X

Basic principles of Surveying

Lets determine the position of a
We need two measurements:
two distances

one distance and an angle

two angles

dBP
dAP
dAP

(XB,YB)

A
(XA,YA)

third, unknown point (C).

We have two unknowns: XP, YP

Plane Surveying

Classification
of Surveying
According to the space involved:
relativ
ely
small
areas
Note:
The two
radii can
suppose
d to be
parallel, when the l(A,B) is small.

surfac
e of
earth
can
suppo
sed to
be flat

 measu
remen
ts
plotte
d
repres
ent a

horizon
tal
projecti
on of
the
actual
field
measur
ements

Mostly used for establishing control

Mostly used for establishing control

Control Networks
Why is it necessary to have a common
countrywide coordinate system?
Many engineering tasks cover a large
area (highways, bridges, tunnels,
channels, land registry, etc.), where the
common coordinate system (reference
system) should be available.
The Control Network provide us with
control points given in the same
refence system (coordinate system).
Thus
measuring
the
relative
positions
of
unknown
points
using these control points, the
coordinates of the new points can be

computed in the same reference

system.

METHODS OF HEIGHT
DETERMINATION
Question 1:
What does the height (elevation) of a
point mean?

Question 2:
What does it mean, when point B is at
a higher elevation than point A?
Answer 1:
The height of a point represents
its energy level above a
reference level.

Answer 2:
For example water flows from
point B to point A.
Definition of height systems:
The potential energy of a
point should be represented
by the height of a point. Hence
water should flow from the
higher elevation towards the
lower elevation.
Should have metric unit.
What should be the reference of
height determination? What is
the 0 level?
Since the height systems
should represent the potential
energy level, we need a
reference surface, which is an

equipotential surface of
Earths gravity field.
The surface of calm water
forms an equipotential surface
Mean Sea Level Kronstadt
(Baltic Sea) is used in Hungary
(formerly Triest, Adriatic Sea).

Transition from
Surveying and
mapping to
GeoInformation
(GIS/RS/Photogrammetery/C
artography/Satellite
Positioning, Relevance of
GIS/Remote
Sensing/Photogrammetry in
Real Estate
Management (site analysis,
physical planning and resource
development);

Introduction to Geographic
Information Systems (GIS)

Definitions of GIS
GIS is a computer-based information system
that enables capture, modeling, manipulation,
retrieval, analysis and presentation of
geographically referenced data. (Worboys,
1997)

Other Definitions
a system of hardware, software, and procedures designed to
support the capture, management, manipulation, analysis,

modeling, and display of spatially referenced data for solving

complex planning & management problems (Rhind, 1989) a
computer system capable of assembling, storing, amnipulating,
and displaying geographically referenced information (USGS,
1997)
a set of computer-based systems for managing geographic
data and using those data to solve spatial problems (Lo & Yeung,
2002)
a computer system that allows the analysis and display of data
with a spatial component (Phillips, 2002)

Components of GIS
Hardware, Software, Data, People, Procedure, Network (Internet)
GIS hardware is like any other computer (nothing special about the hardware)
keyboard, display monitor (screen),
cables, Internet connection
with some extra components perhaps
large monitor, disk drive, RAM
maps come on big bits of paper
need specially big printers and plotters to make map output from
GIS
need specially big devices (digitizers, scanners,...) to scan and
input data from maps to GIS
software
ESRI (http://www.esri.com)

Intergraph Corporation (http://www.intergraph.com )

Autodesk (http://www.autodesk.com )
Caliper: GIS Software, Mapping Software (http://www.caliper.com )

Role of GIS in Real Estate

Management
Real estate (or immovable property or real property )
encompasses land and all the things that are attached to it.
Geo-information ( geographic information) is created by
manipulating geographic or spatial data (geodata) in a
computerized system such as GIS. Maps and satellite images
are forms of geodata.
Real estate business sector include property management,
real estate investing , real estate development, real estate
brokerage, real estate appraisal among others.

what is important is the kind of information

that's stored and analyzed
representing and managing information about what is where . the contents

of maps and images

special functions that work on geographic information, functions
to:
display on the screen
edit, change, transform
measure distances, areas, proximity, adjacency
combine maps of the same area together
useful functions can be much more sophisticated
keep inventories of what is where
manage properties, facilities

 judge the suitability of areas for different purposes

help users make decisions about places, to plan . make
predictions about the future

Example GIS Applications

Resources inventory (what is available at where?)
Network Analysis (How to get to a place in the shortest
amount of time?)
Location Analysis (Where is the best place to locate a
shopping mall?)
Terrain Analysis (What is the danger zone for a natural
disaster? Visibility analysis)

Spatio-Temporal Analysis (Land use: what has changed over

the last twenty years, and why?)

Systems, science and studies

What does it mean to be "doing GIS"?
using the tools of Geographic Information Systems to solve a problem
such as those in the previous examples
a GIS project might have the following stages:
define the problem
acquire the software (and the hardware?)
acquire the data
clean the database
perform the analysis
interpret and present the results

 data models and database management

storing/retrieving/manipulating attributes of spatial objects o
spatial analyses can be complex and computing-intensive with enormous
amounts of data

Reasons for use of GIS in Real Estate

Demand for real property in Kenya far surpass the supply.
Both private and public sector real estate development agencies

have intervened, but lack well organized and integrated real estate
information base.
Majority of them still use traditional MIS. This makes data storage,
manipulation, retrieval and dissemination very slow and costly.
Finding a good real property according to individuals
preference is very difficult in absence of accurate, reliable and
timely information.

 Real estate buyers and sellers occasionally suffer huge losses as a

result of investing in unworthy ventures having relied on deficient

information.
There is then need to archive real property information in a
geodatabase to enable real estate developers, agents and managers
and general public to easily acquire such information .

Example
Study area: Parts of kileleshwa,
kilimani and lavington estates .
Location: Area lies between
9857500m
and
9859000mN,
242000m and 254000mE.
Total area: 3 km2 (300 Ha).
Basis selection:
1)The area has undergone radical
development changes over the past
few years perhaps due to changing
zoning ordinances and building
regulations.
2) The land parcel sizes in the area
are reasonable and boundaries are
well kept.

Tasks to be performed
To build a Geospatial database for real property information within parts of
Kilimani, Lavington and Kileleshwa estates to support timely and reliable
decision making.
The analyses of the geo-database should achieve the following:
Determine suitable site for construction based on pre-defined specifications.
Identify the real assets which meet user-specified property and neighborhood
characteristics.
Propose the shortest route to the house premise for maintenance or assessment by client
for renting or buying.
Identify the closest facility such as school and fire hydrant from house premise
(incidence).
To display real estate information in map format, tables, graphs and reports.

Methods of representing geographic space

Vector

Raster

Spatial Data Files

Spatial Data Files - Vector (cont)

Spatial Data Files - Vector (cont)

Spatial Data Files - Raster

Raster Objects
A raster is a
twodimensional array of
numbers that results in a
screen image.
Each array position
defined by a line and
column number is called
a cell. Cell values can
be of many types ranging
from 1-bit (binary) to
128-bit
(complex numbers).

Vector Data Concepts

objects represented by

points
lines
polygons

topology

relationship of objects
without respect to coordinates

Representation of Vector Data

Coordinates system is used to represent vector

data.
Data can be in different forms forms:

point: single coordinate

line: string of coordinates with start and end nodes
polygon: closed loop of coordinates

These forms are joined at node / vertex.

Relationship Between
Representation & Analysis
Raster

less compact data structure

simple data model

analysis of spatial variability
analysis of spatial
relationships of
environmental data
Vector

compact data structure

works well with topological relationships

(ie. land parcels & roads)

difficult overlay processing

complex data model

analysis of distribution and location of
individual objects

EXAMPLE

Real Estate Project

DATA AND SOURCES

DATA SETS

DATA SOURCE

Topocadastralmap

Survey of Kenya

(1:2,500)
Power distribution maps
(1:2,500)

K.P.L.C Electricity
House

Schools data

Oakar services
Upper hill

Clean water and Sewer Networks

Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company

Industrial area

Fire Hydrants points

Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company

Industrial area

Land Values

Nairobi City Council Valuation

and Rates department

Real estate Information e.g. Rent, property

management, Agency e.t.c

Regent Management Limited

Satellite Image

Google Earth

Upper Hill

Report generation
Part of Property available for sale and rental

User interface programming.

Building interior, facilities, floor plan and site plan.

Property available for rental and sale report

Summary
GIS is a very powerful tool for aggregating and presenting data, especially its ability
to present data in map format and to process and display vector, raster and non-spatial
data.
The database returns beneficial geographical information to real estate enterprise
when subjected to queries, network and spatial analysis.
Updating and retrieval of the real estate data in the database is faster and less
cumbersome as compared to traditional MIS.
The system provides users with the ability to view satellite image, plots, buildings and
utilities superimposed together.
The user interface if developed can allow user to access and display houses available
for rental and sale together with corresponding building photographs of exterior,
interior, facilities available, floor and site plans at a click of a button.
The project proved that GIS has the potential to be a valuable tool for the real estate
industry although full capabilities of GIS are not currently utilized in this industry.

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

REMOTE SENSING includes all

methods and techniques used to gain
qualitative and quantitative information
about distant objects without coming into
direct contact with these objects.

Look-Look, NO Touch
Remote Sensing (RS) methods
try to answer four basic
questions:

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

HOW MUCH of WHAT is WHERE?

What is the SHAPE and EXTENT of
... ?
(Area, Boundaries,
Lineaments, ...)

Has it CHANGED?
What is the MIX of Objects

HOW MUCH of WHAT is

WHERE?

WHAT: Type, Characteristic and

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

Properties of Object.

Eg.
Water,

Vegetation, Land;
Temperature, Concentration,
State
of
Development;
Subtype, Species, Use of ... ;
Includes determination of
generic
object
type,
character and property as
=>

DATA INTERPRETATION

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

well
as
its
abstract
meaning.
HOW MUCH of WHAT is WHERE?

HOW MUCH: determine by simple

COUNTING, measuring AREA covered or
percentage of total area coverage.
WHERE: Relate locations and area
covered to either a standard map or to
the actual location on the ground
where the object occurs.

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

NOTE: WHERE also refers to a moment
in time

What is the SHAPE and EXTENT of

... ?
(Area, Boundaries, Lineaments,
...)

This extends the WHERE to be a

completely GEOMETRIC problem. MAP
PRODUCTION methods are to be applied
to the analysis of RS information. These
include:
Photogrammetric Methods:

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

Identification and Delineation of
Boundaries and Lineaments (Roads,
Rivers, Fault Lines)

Has it CHANGED?

CHANGE
TIME.

may occur with progress of

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

Change may be detected through
comparison of observed states at
different moments in time.

=> CHANGE DETECTION

DATA

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

Interpretation
(secondary)
Measurements
Data Processing & Mapping
(geometric)
Presentation of Processing
Results
Explaining deduced OBJECT
INFORMATION

What is REMOTE SENSING ?

PROCESSING
RS Data Set eg.
Image

Introduction, Satellite
Imaging

Platforms Used to
Acquire Remote Sensing Data
Aircraft
Low, medium & high altitude
Higher level of spatial detail

Satellite
Polar-orbiting, sun-synchronous

800-900 km altitude, 90-100 minutes/orbit

 Geo-synchronous

35,900 km altitude, 24 hrs/orbit

stationary relative to Earth

Satellite Observation

Geostationary satellites are able to view earth from above.

As they move in synchronicity with earth's rotation, they can provide
regular coverage for a region and help in forecasting.

Polar Orbiting Satellites

Polar orbits allow for lower altitudes and more image resolution.
These satellites take multiple passes of the earth before returning to the same
location.

Landsat 7

Image display
Selected bands are remapped (stretched) to fit the
display device. The output image color space is called a
look-up
table.

Image Data

Stretch/Band combination
Color Composite
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Natural color composite

False color composite

3,2,1

4,3,2

Uses of Landsat & SPOT

Data
Geology - used for mapping in mineral and
petroleum exploration
Agriculture - used to estimate crop quantities,
monitor condition of crops
Forestry - to estimate forest losses caused by
fires, clear cutting & disease; to provide forest

inventory data; used for comparative forest land

valuation

Uses of Landsat & SPOT

Data
Land use planning mapping
current land cover, change
detection, route location
planning

 High resolution satellite imagery is being used as a

substitute for high-altitude Blue-water aerial photography
GreenYellow--forest
suburban Redurban

Meteorological
Satellites
Provides more often coverage but at lower
resolution (also means less expensive than
Landsat & SPOT)

 Designed primarily to collect weather data, but

often used for natural resource monitoring over
large areas
NOAA Satellites
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)

Uses of Landsat & SPOT

Data

 For monitoring rangeland condition, wildlife

habitat, identify water pollution, identify flooded
areas, to aid in the assessment of damage caused
by natural disasters

Ocean Monitoring
Satellites
Oceans are important natural resource difficult
to map & monitor over large areas or for long
time periods

 Satellites provide complete coverage at regular

intervals
Landsat & SPOT data used extensively to
monitor sediment and chlorophyll
concentrations, phytoplankton and pollution in
marine and fresh-water environments; also to
map water depths

Different Sensors and

Resolutions
sensor
radiometric

spatial
temporal

spectral

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AVHRR
1.1 and 4 KM
4 or 5 bands
10 bit
12 hours
2400 Km
.58-.68, .725-1.1, 3.55-3.93 (0-1023) (1
day, 1 night)
10.3-11.3, 11.5-12.5
(micrometers)
Landsat MSS
80 meters
4 bands
6 bit
16 days
185 Km
.5-.6, .6-.7, .7-.8, .8-1.1
(063)
Landsat TM 30 meters
14 days
185 Km
255)

7 bands

8 bit

.45-.52, .52-.6, .63-.69,

.76-.9, 1.55-1.75,
10.4-12.5, 2.08-2.3 um

(0-

INTRODUCTION TO GPS