Land iQ
Helping NSW government agencies make faster, smarter decisions about the use of land.
World-first data platform for use of land
Land iQ is a world-first data platform that helps planning and property professionals make faster, smarter decisions about the use of land. It is a digital tool for strategically evaluating land use, using maps to visualise and analyse data.
Land iQ was developed by Property and Development NSW (PDNSW) in collaboration with agencies across NSW Government and in partnership with WSP Australia, Giraffe and Aerometrex. It reduces the number of related, yet different, methods and tools used across government to assess the effects of different land uses.
Land iQ brings more than 200 data sources and 75 land-use data types into a single platform to allow for faster and smarter strategic evaluations of how land can be used. The platform uses smart technology to speed up planning processes. It helps unlock more homes for people by spotting planning barriers and exploring ways to provide practical solutions across the state.
Land IQ has been used to lead the NSW Government’s Property Audit to analyse government land that could be used for more housing. It also supported the delivery of emergency housing in Northern NSW, as part of the Government’s 2022 flood response.
Land iQ has been rolled out across NSW Government agencies and to 128 NSW local councils. The platform is available to other levels of government, researchers and industry with access through a subscription licence.
Land iQ is a living platform that will evolve and adapt to the future needs of users, using new digital resources as they become available.
Features
- Data library: Land iQ leverages a comprehensive catalogue of cutting edge 2D and 3D data from a range of government and external sources to provide an interactive 3D map interface and provide users with smarts and analytic insights, to know more about the area or asset they are investigating.
- Site search: advanced, multiple-criteria site searching including size, planning controls, and proximity to services, infrastructure, amenities, constraints and more.
- Shortlisting: a powerful functionality for managing and revisiting a selection of properties from your site search results with the ability to add custom columns and create detailed scoring sets allowing for a more personalised and thorough evaluation of sites. Ranking sites based on both database attributes and user-generated values can help users make more nuanced decisions.
- GeoInsight: a comprehensive analysis of a particular location against benchmarks and other geographies.
- Scenario planning: analysis of land-use scenarios to understand the effect of change in use across social, economic, environmental and financial metrics.
- Collaboration: delivers an in-house solution and makes it easier for government and industry to work together in a collaborative environment for sharing projects, datasets and developing scenarios to test potential use of land.
Land IQ uses
- Urban and regional planning: undertake strategic, statutory, and policy planning.
- Property: detailed site identification and assessment, property insights and due-diligence, portfolio management, and valuation.
- Risk and resilience: risk assessment and planning for resilience, particularly concerning climate pressures and natural hazards.
- Scenario planning: enhanced scenario capabilities enable testing of bulk rezoning of areas providing a robust digital visualisation planning tool that uses urban analytics to support master and precinct planning and local area rezoning.
- Report generation: fast creation of detailed planning, property, and development reports.
- Map creation: streamline creating and customising maps for projects, zoning, and hazard visualisation.
- Research: comprehensive state-wide datasets maintained by Land iQ provide an excellent source of information to conduct research for policy development as well as discrete research projects by the University sector.
Land iQ in action
Find out how Land iQ improves land-use decisions and has helped government agencies respond to floods, as well as housing supply and affordability.
Land iQ – Northern Rivers Reconstruction Authority
Land iQ – Housing affordability crisis
Land iQ – identifying sites for new homes
Frequently asked questions
There are many bespoke methods, tools and systems used across government for analysing land use. Land iQ combines all of these in one place along with advanced technology and insights to streamline planning processes.
We developed the tool to reduce the number of related, yet different, methods and tools used across government to assess the effects of different land uses. The tool also reduces timeframes for due diligence.
Land iQ uses a common database of inputs and assumptions to inform decisions about land use that are based on evidence. It allows users to analyse land and property assets more consistently and strategically.
There are currently over 200 data sources in Land iQ’s spatial data library. This includes an expanding suite of data from open access sources, government data sources and indicators.
The tool can be used to:
- identify sites with a set of criteria
- do site layouts or feasibility studies
- make preliminary assessment of business cases
- support strategic planning and development assessment by analysing the local context from a street or suburb scale, to the local government area and regional context
This helps planners and property professionals understand the existing economic, social, demographic, cultural and environmental context.
Land iQ has already supported a variety of high-profile government projects, including the Housing Recovery Taskforce to find and analyse sites for temporary accommodation. It continues to serve as a critical tool in the delivery of the NSW Government property audit for housing.
Land iQ provides a consistent, whole-of-government way of identifying sites. The tool will allow users to understand planning context and find sites with acceptable environmental risks when delivering residential development.
Land iQ can be used to:
- identify areas of priority for housing development (and type of housing) and shortlist sites using multi-criteria search
- assess site and local government area resilience and impacts for planning tasks and considerations for site development
- do preliminary site due diligence using the data library
- display how the delivery of critical infrastructure aligns with developing new homes
- generate or upload 3D designs to understand built form and environmental impacts
- use all modules to combine relevant data, strategic plans, state environmental planning policies and analytics to assess development applications or rezoning proposals.
No, not as a complete tool, which is why we went to market in 2021 to find a development partner. Certain aspects, like the spatial viewer platform Giraffe, already existed. We have built on these in the development of Land iQ.
Land iQ has been rolled out across NSW Government agencies and to 128 NSW local councils.
The platform is now available to other levels of government, researchers and industry users with access through a subscription licence.