Expert group meeting on slum mapping

As a part of the effort to monitor Target 11 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's), UNHABITAT's Global Urban Observatory , the International Institute for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC), The Netherlands, and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, USA, organized a 3 day expert meeting on Very High Resolution Satellite imagery (VHRSI) application on slum mapping and monitoring. The meeting, which was held at ITC's facilities in Enschede, The Netherlands from 21-23 May 2008, brought together 25 experts on VHRSI application on slum mapping from around the world to present methods and techniques for mapping and monitoring slum development with remote sensing and GIS technologies.



The goal of the MDG Target-ll is to significantly improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. Although considerable work has been done on monitoring the state of slum dwellers statistically, a peer-review composed of the World Bank, Cities Alliance, UN-Agencies, international institutes and experts has pointed out the lack of attention to the spatial aspects as part of the monitoring such as the location, size and physical development of slum settlements. The purpose of this expert meeting was to assess the one or two most promising methods for slum mapping using VHRSI, for further development and evaluation through field testing. Ultimately the most successful methods will form the basis of training and capacity building materials that will be developed and directed to staff of local governments, NGO and others engaged in digital slum mapping and urban poverty reduction programmes around the globe.