Dear friend,

Welcome to Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Property Rights Program at New America. Last month, Tim Robustelli moderated a session on new tools for land administration at the LANDac Conference in the Netherlands, while Yuliya Panfil participated in a Land Portal webinar on tech, governance, and transparency. We've also continued to write about property rights both in outer space and here in the United States. Here's what we've been up to:

What We're Doing

New Responses to Old Challenges: A Land Technology Sandbox​

Tim Robustelli traveled to the LANDac Conference in the Netherlands to run a land and technology sandbox. Decision-makers tinkered with three disruptive technologies—drones, blockchain, and mobile mapping—in a low pressure and accessible environment.

Interested in new and emerging technology for the land and property sector? Learn more here.

Tech and Transparency: Democratizing Data and Empowering Communities With Cutting-Edge Technologies

Yuliya Panfil participated in a webinar co-hosted by FPR, Land Portal, and Esri to discuss emerging technologies and their implications for increasing transparency and decreasing corruption in the land sector.

You can view a recording of the webinar here.

Sixteen Tons of Moon Rock

Chris Mellon and former New America Army Fellow Dennis Wille wrote for Slate comparing future space settlements with company towns of the 1800s.

Black Land Was Plundered for Decades  — This Law Can Thwart More Losses

Andrew Hagopian and Tim Robustelli wrote for The Hill about heirs property, the leading cause of black land loss in the U.S., and recent reforms that can help ease the problem.

What We're Reading

"The 'Amazon of Africa' faces a big challenge: No addresses" - The Washington Post

Danielle Paquette explores the growing pains of Africa's e-commerce industry. As online shopping swells, retailers struggle to physically deliver packages due to a simple yet pervasive problem: the lack of addresses. We wonder if geocode systems or other emerging technologies can help solve this addressing issue?

"The Great Land Robbery" - The Atlantic

Vann R. Newkirk II examines the tragic history of the Mississippi Delta region: black land loss, often through coercive means, and the subsequent bulk purchases of farmland by Wall Street. We can’t help but see the parallels with black land loss in South Africa and Zimbabwe, and wonder what the land restitution movements in those countries can teach us.

Thoughts on our work or where we're headed? Feel free to reach out to us at FPR@NewAmerica.org.

Until next month, the FPR Team.

About New America

New America is dedicated to renewing America by continuing the quest to realize our nation's highest ideals. Read the rest of our story, or see what we've been doing recently in our latest Annual Report. 

The Future of Property Rights Program at New America focuses on bringing together technologists and policymakers to help solve land and property rights challenges around the world.

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