Integrated Deprivation Area Mapping System for Displacement Durable Solutions and socioeconomic reconstruction in Khartoum, Sudan (IDeAMapSudan)

More than 10 million people are added to African cities each year, roughly two-thirds of whom live in slums, informal settlements, or other deprived areas (“deprived areas” hereafter). We cannot presently identify the locations and basic characteristics of deprived areas with any regularity (e.g., annually) across African cities, or other cities in the Global South. This is because deprived areas are heterogeneous, no common definition of such areas exists, and current approaches to map them – community mapping, aggregating household data, digitizing satellite imagery, or machine-learning/AI modelling – are insufficient on their own and largely silo-ed.

IDeAMapSudan focus on building the capacity to co-create and use spatial data on deprived areas (informal settlements). Such data is essential for developing a comprehensive roadmap for resilient and sustainable urban planning strategies for durable solutions to displacement in the Horn of Africa in general, and Sudan in particular. Authorities, NGOs, and communities in Sudan need to be equipped to work efficiently with spatial data and available Earth Observation (EO) methods (e.g., high-resolution satellite images), and combine such data with available information and community-based knowledge to create an understanding of displacement challenges and opportunities associated with urban development and socio-economic reconstruction reforms in Sudan.

Supported by the NUFFIC under the Orange Knowledge Programme.