Land information systems, also called simplified cadastre in the 1980s, can be defined as a parcel-based database combined with software and procedures designed to collect, update, and process data (Dale & McLaughlin, 1989; Durand-Lasserve, 1993; UN-Habitat, 1990). They were designed in the 1980s as part of a broad paradigm shift in international development policies, from subsidized urban policies to institutional reforms, and from conventional planning tools (master plan, etc.) to management tools derived from the private sector.