Land valuation with Best Worst Method in land consolidation projects

Abstract

Land Consolidation is the regulations made to increase agricultural productivity. In these projects, improperly shaped parcels are optimally rearranged in the land allocation process and reallocated to predetermined blocks. The amount of the land to be reallocated depends on the value of parcels. Because, after land consolidation in the project area, it is necessary to determine the value of existing parcels based on certain factors so that the landowner will be provided with the land of equal value to its previous land. In land consolidation projects, determining the value of the land, developing and recommending principles acceptable to the landowner, and the overall duration of the project are of critical importance for the quality and success of the project. In other words, the key to the positive evaluation of the whole project is to determine the value of the land transparently and without causing injustice among landowners. The methods used in land valuation in many countries fall behind the existing techniques and technologies. Therefore, a new approach based on scientific methods is needed for land valuation. To this end, a new model based on multi-criteria calculations, which is compatible with today's technologies and eliminates weaknesses in the existing land valuation methods, has been developed in this study. In the model, the most important factors affecting the land value in land consolidation projects were determined, and the value of parcels in the consolidation area was determined by weighting these factors using the Best Worst Method (BWM). The BWM is a new Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method in the literature and has been used for the first time in this field. In the study, three different scenario models were created to investigate how the factor influencing land value are allocated during the land valuation. The generated land value maps were examined from different aspects, and the results were revealed. In conclusion, the proposed method performed an analytical, objective, and transparent land valuation since it objectively evaluates the factors used in land valuation by a scientific method.