Professor João Porto de Albuquerque, Chair in Urban Analytics, University of Glasgow.
By Charlotte Morris
A new digital mapping tool aimed at using citizen science and participatory urban analytics to support improvements in deprived areas in cities in Low-and Middle-Income countries has been developed by the IDEAMAPS Network.
The IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem platform (beta version) enables citizens to directly improve the mapping of their own communities. It aims to foster positive exchanges of data between urban scientists, communities and policy makers, helping to overcome barriers in city planning, neighbourhood improvement and ‘slum’ upgrading.
The platform is led by the University of Glasgow’s Professor João Porto de Albuquerque, Chair in Urban Analytics. It will be launched at the World Urban Forum in Cairo on 5 November.
Professor João Porto de Albuquerque said: “The IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem project is building a participatory data ecosystem to produce deprived urban area maps routinely, accurately and at scale that can enable transformative change.
“Grounded in methods of citizen science, our platform puts people at the centre of the digital technologies we develop. Whilst exploring the data we’ve generated, users can validate it by double clicking on grid cells. This means that they can change the data they see so that they more accurately reflect local realities.
“We use the validation of users to generate new and improved versions of our urban analytics models and thus improve the evidence base for decision making. Co-designed with our stakeholders, our platform seeks user participation at each step in its development – aiming towards a definition of technologies that offers improved and appropriate information to support city planning and participatory ‘slum’ upgrading.
“The IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem platform (beta version) is publicly available for people to explore. It is our hope that the platform will engage policymakers and community representatives within each of our pilot cities – Lagos, Kano and Nairobi – and beyond, towards improved methods of mapping and improving urban deprived areas.”
With people at the heart of the IDEAMAPS Network’s mission, it is hoped that the platform will enable:
- Community Leaders, Mobilisers and Activists to gather better data that increases visibility about the challenges and opportunities within their neighbourhood
- City Managers & Policymakers to better understand ways to meet the needs of communities in their cities
- Researchers in Urban Science and Planning to use our data to advance public knowledge about methods of upgrading urban communities in LMICs
Launched in 2020 with funding from a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) grant, the Network grew out of workshops hosted by the African Population and Health Research Center, Slum Dwellers International – Kenya, and UN-Habitat in Nairobi in 2019. Projects in the IDEAMAPS network engage and link stakeholders, develop datasets of urban deprivation and foster capacity among stakeholders to use data for decision making.
Access the IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem platform (beta version).
Local partners leading on the engagements in Lagos, Kano, and Nairobi are as follows:
University of Lagos: Founded in 1962, the University of Lagos has, for over five decades, provided qualitative and research-oriented education to Nigerians and all those who have entered its domain in search of knowledge by advancing transdisciplinary research for knowledge co-production in urban data analytics, climate resilience, policy formulation, and sustainable development.
Africa Centre of Excellence for Population Health and Policy (ACEPHAP): The African Centre of Excellence for Population Health and Policy (ACEPHAP) is one of the World Bank supported African Centre of Excellence which is aimed at strengthening interdisciplinary approaches to promote population health outcome through training and research for evidence-informed policy development in West and Central Africa.
African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC): The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a premier research-to-policy institution, generating evidence, strengthening research and related capacity in the African research and development ecosystem, and engaging policy to inform action on health and development.
Relevant links
- Professor João Porto de Albuquerque is Chair in Urban Analytics at the University of Glasgow, based in the Urban Big Data Centre. Supported by the Economic and Social Research Council and the University of Glasgow, the Urban Big Data Centre is a dynamic national research hub and data service, championing the use of smart data to inform policymaking and enhance the quality of urban life.