Launch of the IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem Platform

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IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem Platform

The IDEAMAPS Network are proud to launch the first public prototype of the IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem platform - a digital tool aimed at using citizen science and participatory urban analytics to support improvement of deprived areas in cities in Low- and Middle-Income countries.

Currently, 1.1 billion people are estimated to live in deprived urban areas and informal settlements (also called "slums"), but there is scarce data about the specific living conditions in these areas. Addressing this, the IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem platform presents data about different types of urban deprivation and assets. Our mission is 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.

Datasets describing types of urban deprivation and assets are open to explore on our platform. These datasets are generated through urban analytics computational models underpinned by Artificial Intelligence and the best available data, but they often must be improved by local expertise.

The public launch of the platform at the World Urban Forum on 5 November 2024 marks a major opportunity for policymakers and community representatives to participate in large scale and open data validation activities across our 3 pilot cities: Lagos & Kano (Nigeria) & Nairobi (Kenya).

In this initial phase, our platform presents data about areas that are characterised by informal structures, such as small and dense buildings and irregular street layouts ("morphological informality"). These areas frequently emerge from unplanned urbanisation processes and lack access to urban services such as improved water and sanitation infrastructure. Improved maps identifying these informal urban areas can support targeted action to improve living conditions and offer a basis for understanding other types of deprivations and assets.

In the next steps, we plan to add other maps that capture different domains of deprivation to our platform, as well as making this tool available for other developers and urban modelers to engage with communities and stakeholders to validate their model data outputs.

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About the Project

The IDEAMAPS Network is a family of research projects working to improve our current approaches to “slumˮ mapping in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). The IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem project is building a participatory data modelling ecosystem to produce deprived area maps routinely, accurately and at scale.

Our Project Goal

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.

How are we doing this?
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• We co-designed our platform and urban models through in-person Participatory Action Research (PAR) and multi-stakeholder workshops in our pilot cities, in which communities and stakeholders had the chance to define how we classify urban areas.

• With our tool, communities and stakeholders now have the chance to use the platform to validate information about their city or neighbourhood.

• Validation data collected with the tool and feedback during PARs will be used to improve models and data on the maps.

• Improved maps will serve as an updated evidence-base for local decision- making.

• Multi-stakeholder engagements held throughout the project lifecycle are strengthening communication networks between communities, academics, and government representatives.

Explore more from IDEAMAPS Network here.

Our Users

With people at the heart of our mission, we hope our platform enables;
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Community Leaders, Mobilisers & 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.

Citizen Science: Inclusive Data  Exchange for Participatory Urban Analytics

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.

We Map Urban Deprivation & Assets Across Cities

Our map comprises of two layers:

• Our Basemap - This layer shows you places within your city. You can see street and place names as well as assets like heath facilities or community centres.
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• Our Grid Data - This layer shows you data from our IDEAMAPS models represented by colourful rectangles in the shape of a grid.

Our basemap is based on the open digital platform OpenStreetMap, which includes the assets we map with communities in Participatory Action Research workshops. They provide improved visibility of the assets a neighbourhood already has, including water points, health facilties and community centres.

Our grid data is tied to 100m x 100m grid cells and represents the classifications of our computational models. These grid cells make up the different coloured rectangles that you see on our map. The classifications can either be Low (Blue) – Medium (Orange) - High (Red) for all of the different datasets you can explore on our map.

Launched on 5 November 2024, our platform is publicly available for people to explore and validate our datasets about urban deprivation and assets. We hope the platform will engage policymakers and community representatives within each of our pilot cities, and beyond, towards improved methods of mapping helping the upgrading of urban deprived areas.

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Explore more about our platform here.

Visit the IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem Platform here.