- Raster based GIS for urban Management: a low-cost solution for developing countries    click here to open paper content1107 kb
by    Schuett, Rolf | rolf-schuett@yahoo.com   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
This approach tries to encourage local authorities to work with spatial technologies and (mainly) freely available data, applying local solutions and soft ideas.
Abstract
Especially in developing countries, where most of the world biggest cities are located, there is growing concern on the difficulties to monitor and guide development in terms of efficiency and sustainabilty.

At the same time, the improvement of information technologies and increasing availability of data in useful formats is allowing us to develop customised tools to support urban management more precisely.

The proposed approach presented in this paper has been developed as a strategic concept to identify the areas with best conditions for any intended type of infrastructure development, assess its possible impact and thus track constraints and opportunities for investment in a plausible and understandable fashion.

The method used is a raster based GIS that links spatial data, state of the art approaches, existing development plans and urban planning ''common sense'', all of which lead to considerations for further discussion with stakeholders, users, etc.

The case study presented here tries to demonstrate that spatial information technologies, relevant data and a practical method as proposed here may lead to a low-cost assessment solution, especially designed to be applied wherever time and funds are limited.
Keywords
GIS, raster analysis, sustainability
Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2008: Urban Growth without Sprawl
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