Method and apparatus for monitoring and responding to land use activities

Abstract

The invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring the use of land. More specifically, the invention monitors the use of land at a specified site, as well as at adjacent sites. The invention answers the question of how to manage risks resulting from external activities and how to intervene proactively.

1 . An apparatus for monitoring land use, comprising:
 at least one processor executing instructions for identifying a site to be monitored, wherein boundaries of said site do not necessarily align with boundaries of a legal description of a property;   said processor monitoring ongoing land use activities in connection with said site in view of at least one land use restriction which limits how said site can be used;   said processor accessing alert criteria to identify when an alert should be generated in response to detection by said processor, during said monitoring of land use activities within said site, of at least one land use activity that violates said at least one land use restriction at said site; and   said processor generating an alert when a land use activity is detected that matches said alert criteria.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said land use restriction is self-imposed by a responsible party, and is not required by any regulatory or government agency. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a site comprises any of:
 an area along an infrastructure;   a time varying geographic area; and   a route.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said processor providing validation, alert follow-up, and reporting.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein data in connection with said land use activity comprises any of:
 real estate data which comprises any of sales, zoning, current use, tenant, and rent rates;   water well related data;   building permit data or application data;   EPA data;   requests for excavation, as well as excavation permits;   land use related data;   chemical spill data;   school, education data;   political representation data;   traffic data;   socio-demographic data which comprises any of income, age, race, and education;   commercial data which comprises any of type of business, sales, and industry;   crime rates;   sex offender data;   any of noise, air, and climate data;   any of health data, death rates and causes; and   real time data provided by sensors, wherein said sensors comprises any device that is capable of capturing a real time physical activity.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said processor generating said activity data from other data and/or other activity data sets and logic rules.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said logic processor providing alert response management by:   checking said alert against a database;   coordinating an alert response;   closing an alert; and   documenting said alert.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said alert criteria comprise any of:
 a short statement; and   an alert path describing who needs to be informed and in what order, based on which event and when said event occurred.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 said processor filtering overlaps in said monitoring report against alert criteria; and   said processor creating an alert only if there is a match.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein filtering comprises any of geographic filtering, land activity filtering, and validation. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said processor monitoring and validating the operation of one or more engineering controls.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said processor assembling data in connection with said land use activity into a shape file, wherein said shape expands across a geographic area.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 said processor translating data in connection with said land use activity into said shape file, and comparing geographic areas represented by said land use activity data and said shape file with each other to determine and search for any area overlaps; and   said processor preparing and sending an alert when there is an overlap.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , said site further comprising site description data that comprise any of:
 location of said site, wherein said location is described in any of longitude/latitude parameters, parcel number, street address, grid based mapping location, and/or altitude or elevation;   a detailed description of elements of interest;   a graphical description;   contact names and addresses;   a description of said land use restriction; and   pictures or other visual elements.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said land use restrictions describe land use restriction and alert procedures which comprise any of:
 elements and frequency of monitoring the land use; and   rules for alerting one or multiple parties regarding any violations or conflicts with said land use restrictions.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 one or more physical measuring instruments for collecting data in connection with said land use activity.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said processor determining any of:   a shape area comprising a three-dimensional shape comprising any of longitude, latitude and altitude;   a shape area comprising a two-dimensional shape, where one dimension is altitude;   a virtual shape; and   a shape area comprising time as a fourth dimension.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 said processor comparing multiple shapes against each other to search for overlaps.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein said shape is dynamic and changes according to logical rules, which comprise any of a change in size and a change in location. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein any of a person and object comprises a shape owning a geographic location over time. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein shapes can be merged and/or split apart. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said alert comprises any of an electronic or printed format; and
 wherein any of:
 one or multiple parties are alerted; 
 logic rules are provided to outline an escalation path for the alert mechanism; and 
 an alert is driven or initiated based on a specified time sequence of events. 
   
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 an alert logic module for verifying an alert by any of:
 checking against other data sources to check plausibility or seriousness; and 
 requesting additional information needed for evaluation from one or more systems. 
   
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 an action module for receiving an alert and creating corrective actions based on said alert, wherein said corrective action comprises any activity which is not an alert or an evaluation of an alert.   
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , said corrective action comprising any of:
 an automated letter of complaint;   a warning to a party having caused an alert to stop certain activities or introduce activities; and   a legal disclosure letter to a purchaser of a property next to said site to make sure that the new owner is aware of certain land use restrictions.   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said processor managing land use restrictions with respect to use of air space above a physical property.   
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said processor alerting specified parties along specified escalation paths.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said processor providing validation, alert follow-up, and reporting.   
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein data therein are any of automatically generated and provided by third parties.