Country: Ghana
In partnership with:Self-Help Initiative Support Services
Funded by: Comic Relief
Period: January 2007 - Aug 2011

We needed a tool that allowed us to visualize past and present activities in Agbogbloshie. This would help us to plan and implement the Urban Lifeline Project more efficiently.

We felt that a Geographic Information System (GIS) would be the most helpful tool for this task, as a GIS provides visual aids to represent data and spatial features.

Prior to the ULP mapping exercise, there was no precise data on Agbogbloshie and only vague estimates were used. Orientation within the slum was poor because it was not mapped. Making decisions based on demographic conditions were non-existent.

We have completed the mapping exercise and processed the base data. This includes the location of all public and private enterprises, roads, health centres, sanitation facilities, educational institutes and religious bodies in the area.

We have data on personal demographics, population distribution and density, individual housing and sleeping patterns.

This slum mapping project was exhibited in Brazil during the UN fifth World Urban Forum in 2010.