Towards a contemporary theory of land management

The paper develops the normative core of contemporary land management theory as an autonomous foundational discipline that transcends the narrow techno-practical view of “parcel processing” and is framed as a science of governing spatial value. Building on a critical review of the international land administration paradigm, Ukrainian doctrinal contributions, institutional theory, property-rights theory, and spatial economics, the study refines the object and subject of land management: the object is defined as a multidimensional socio-spatial continuum in which territory is transformed into an ordered space of rights, restrictions, regimes, rents, and risks; the subject is the emergence, structure, and dynamics of land-use regimes as systems of legal titles, servitudes, zones, corridors, and reservations in a multi-layer (surface–subsurface–airspace) and multi-temporal configuration. An axiomatic core of contemporary land management theory is articulated. It is shown that its methodology must encompass institutional analysis, doctrinal legal reasoning on spatial regimes, spatial-economic rent modelling, topological and network approaches, environmental accounting, geoinformation and algorithmic modelling, scenario analysis, and procedures of spatial justice. The paper systematizes the kernel of scientific problems in land management theory whose resolution is a precondition for moving from fragmented normative–technical practice to institutionally mature spatial governance. The practical significance of the results lies in providing a conceptual framework for updating curricula, improving cadastral and planning systems, and designing standards for governing spatial value under conditions of digitalization and the growing importance of spatial justice.