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THE USE OF GIS IN INFORMAL SETTLEMENT UPGRADING: ITS ROLE AND IMPACT
ON THE COMMUNITY AND ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AProfessor John Abbott
Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Cape Town,
Private Bag, 7701, Rondebosch,
South Africa.
Tel. ++27 21 650 2605
Email: abbott@ebe.uct.ac.za.
Abstract
The Urban GIS Group within the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town has
been coordinating a pilot informal settlement upgrading in Cape Town since 1998. The project
objective has been the evolution of a model-based approach to informal settlement upgrading that is
both structured and replicable. It was felt that the only way this could be achieved was through the use
of a spatial data management system operated through a GIS system. The spatial database has been
used for all facets of data collection and data process and forms the basis for all decision making.
Thus it covers all physical data pertaining to the site, cadastral and shack data, demographic and socioeconomic
data (with an in-depth review of every household) economic opportunities and physical
planning and design data. The result is a comprehensive, integrated, settlement upgrading
methodology that could not have been developed without the use of GIS and spatially referenced
physical capable of being rapidly updated.
Introduction
In 1998, the Urban GIS Group within the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape
Town initiated a pilot informal settlement upgrading in two settlements in Cape Town with a
combined population of 10,00 people. Working in partnership with the communities involved, and
with the local authority, the objective was to explore the feasibility of creating a method-based
approach to informal settlement upgrading that could be used as a replicable model for South Africa.
This method is underpinned by a spatial data management system operated through a GIS interface
and it is primarily this facet of the approach that will be described in this paper.
A key objective of this upgrading methodology is to empower the community, both through the
provision of detailed information on the community and then by the use of that information to support
their negotiations with the local authority. The ability to access all the relevant data on their
community and settlement did strengthen the community, and gave them a power base that facilitated
a partnership with local government. At the same time though, the extent to which the community
could take control of the data management process (as opposed to taking ownership of the data itself)
was limited, due to lack of knowledge and resources to take over the technology. This is an issue that
is the subject of ongoing work.
Paralleling this community process is a second thrust focussed on (primarily local) government in the
Western Cape. When this project began there was an hostile attitude to informal settlement from all
spheres of government. It has been argued elsewhere (Abbott, 2000) that this is due, at least partially,
to a fear of informality and the implications of informality on city government. Building a structured
methodology, and particularly one based on geo-spatial information, has gone a long way towards
overcoming this fear. As a result the majority view in both local and provincial government is now
supportive of informal settlement upgrading. Furthermore, the use of geospatial information to
describe the upgrading process has facilitated discussions on levels of service, social spatial
relationships and tenure options. This has led to a move away from roads, towards a pedestrian-based
movement network. It has provided flexibility in terms of the type of tenure that is most appropriate.
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