## 3 The Land Based Classification Standards (LBCS)  
Land use is typically studied by geographers and urban planners, and refers to how the land is being used by humans. In urban development processes it is important to know what can be achieved by using land use to plan the space where people live. However, there is a recurring misconception. Land use planning is sometimes interpreted as a process whereby planners tell people what to do, whereas in fact the objective of land use planning is to make a systematic assessment of the physical, social, and economic factors to assist land users and planners in selecting the best sustainable options to meet society's needs. The importance of this has created the need to explain the classification standards used in the context of this research, namely the LBCS, in more detail. The Land Based Classification Standards [25] were developed by the American Planning Association (APA) basically to provide planners with a consistent model for classifying land uses based on their characteristics. The purpose of the standard was to provide a common classification and to minimise redundant data collection and production by a range of local, regional, state, and federal agencies. The first version of LBCS was launched in 2000 and the standards have since been updated periodically. Following [PERSON]'s approach in which he argues that urban planners will need several additional dimensions of land use information [26], LBCS developed 5 different dimensions to represent activities, economic land use functions, structural uses, site development status, and the nature of land ownership. Activity refers to the actual use of land, based on its observable characteristics. \"It describes what actually takes place in physical or observable terms (e.g., farming, shopping, manufacturing, vehicular movement, _etc._). An office activity, for example, refers only to the physical activity on the premises, which could apply equally to a law firm, a nonprofit institution, a court house, a corporate office, or any other office use\" [25]. Function refers to the economic function or type of enterprise using the land. \"Every land-use can be characterized by the type of establishment it serves. Land-use terms, such as agricultural, commercial, industrial, relate to establishments. The type of economic function served by the land-use gets classified in this dimension; it is independent of actual activity on the land. Establishments can have a variety of activities on their premises, yet serve a single function. For example, two parcels are said to be in the same functional category if they serve the same establishment, even if one is an office building and the other is a factory\" [25]. Structure refers to the type of structure or building on the land. Site development status refers to the nature of the overall physical development of the land. Finally, ownership refers to the relationship between land use and land rights. The multi-dimensional concept of the LBCS allows for very precise information on land use. Parks and open spaces, for example, often accommodate a complex mix of activities, functions and structures and current land use standards containing only one classification dimension cannot adequately describe such a spatial structure. Moreover, LBCS has a hierarchical system for each dimension which contains a set of categories and subcategories for classifying land use. This hierarchical system makes it very flexible in terms of the level of detail for the available information--categories can be refined or abstracted if needed. LBCS provides a (numerical and colour) coding system to accommodate each dimension category in the hierarchical tree. Each of the five dimensions has nine colour values, one for each top-level category. Within each dimension, the colour value remains constant for the top-level category and all subcategories. The parcel is one of the most important geospatial elements for planners and is therefore the most common taxonomic unit in land use data.