Long before the advent of electronic tools, land surveyors relied on ingenious yet labor-intensive methods to measure distances. Indigenous peoples in pre-colonial America, for example, used the "bow shot" — the distance an arrow could travel — as a rough unit of measurement. In Europe, surveyors employed steel chains like the Gunter’s chain or invar tapes, meticulously pulling them taut to minimize sagging and adjusting for heat expansion to maintain accuracy.

Measuring slopes required "breaking" chains into smaller increments, while perambulators (measuring wheels) provided rough estimates for longer distances over uneven terrain. For particularly challenging landscapes, tacheometry offered a workaround by calculating distances through angular measurements of objects with known sizes. Though innovative for their time, these methods were prone to human error, environmental interference, and inefficiency, making tasks like mapping Brighton’s undulating South Downs or resolving boundary disputes in Hove’s historic districts painstakingly slow.

Today, Brighton and Hove Landmark Assessments leverages cutting-edge Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM) and laser technology to deliver unparalleled precision in land surveys. Modern EDM devices use lasers or infrared waves to measure distances instantaneously, eliminating the need for manual chains or angular calculations. This technology captures millimeter-level accuracy, even across Brighton’s coastal slopes or dense urban areas, while automatically compensating for environmental factors like temperature. Combined with GPS and 3D mapping tools, EDM streamlines tasks such as boundary demarcation in Rottingdean, topographic surveys for flood-prone zones in Pevensey, or construction layouts in Kemp Town’s heritage sites.