GIS for Urban Poverty, Housing, and Informal Settlements Analysis Course

Course Introduction

Urban poverty and housing challenges are among the most pressing issues facing rapidly growing cities worldwide. Informal settlements are expanding as populations increase, often without access to adequate services, security of tenure, or resilient infrastructure. Addressing these challenges requires accurate spatial data and analytical tools to inform inclusive planning and equitable development.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide a powerful framework for mapping and analyzing urban poverty, housing inequalities, and informal settlements. They enable governments, NGOs, and researchers to visualize settlement patterns, identify service gaps, and support policy design for improving livelihoods.

This course introduces participants to advanced GIS methods for understanding the spatial dimensions of poverty and housing. Through hands-on training, learners will work with real-world datasets to explore socio-economic disparities, urban vulnerability, and settlement dynamics.

Participants will also explore how GIS integrates with urban policy, housing rights, and sustainable development agendas, especially in relation to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The course will highlight tools for participatory mapping, spatial justice, and data-driven decision-making.

Emerging technologies such as remote sensing, drones, and mobile-based data collection will be covered, showing how they enhance urban poverty mapping and housing analysis. Practical applications include slum upgrading, service delivery planning, and resilience building in informal communities.

By the end of this course, learners will be equipped with the skills to design and implement GIS-based solutions that promote housing equity, support informal settlement upgrading, and foster inclusive, sustainable urban development.

Who Should Attend

• Urban planners and housing policy specialists
• Government officials working in urban development and poverty reduction
• Researchers in urban studies, social sciences, and geography
• NGOs and international organizations focused on housing and livelihoods
• GIS and remote sensing professionals in urban development projects
• Civil society organizations supporting slum upgrading initiatives
• Environmental and social justice advocates
• Data analysts working on poverty and inequality studies
• Development program managers and donor agencies

Duration

5 days

Course Objectives

• Equip participants with GIS techniques for analyzing spatial dimensions of urban poverty, housing challenges, and informal settlements at multiple scales.
• Strengthen skills in integrating socio-economic and spatial datasets to identify service gaps and infrastructure needs in urban communities.
• Train participants to design poverty maps, housing vulnerability indices, and inequality visualizations that inform inclusive urban planning.
• Develop expertise in applying GIS to slum upgrading, service delivery planning, and monitoring urban resilience in informal settlements.
• Provide practical knowledge of mobile-based and participatory data collection methods for capturing community-level housing data.
• Enhance capacity to use satellite imagery and remote sensing for mapping urban growth, settlement expansion, and housing quality.
• Explore GIS applications in supporting housing policy, tenure security, and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
• Enable participants to design geospatial dashboards and visualization tools that communicate poverty and housing issues to stakeholders.
• Build skills in analyzing climate vulnerability and disaster risks in urban informal settlements using spatial data.
• Equip learners to undertake independent GIS projects addressing housing equity, urban poverty, and informal settlement analysis.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Urban Poverty and GIS

• Understanding urban poverty and inequality
• GIS frameworks for housing and informal settlement studies
• Spatial justice and the right to housing
• Global urbanization trends and challenges

Module 2: Data Sources for Urban Poverty and Housing

• Socio-economic and demographic datasets
• Remote sensing for settlement mapping
• Community-driven and participatory mapping
• Open data platforms for urban research

Module 3: Mapping Informal Settlements

• Techniques for slum boundary mapping
• Classification of settlement types
• Identifying housing density and land use patterns
• Case studies of informal settlement mapping

Module 4: Housing Vulnerability and Inequality Analysis

• Developing poverty and housing indices
• Spatial analysis of access to services
• Inequality mapping and hotspot analysis
• Gender and equity dimensions in housing studies

Module 5: Remote Sensing for Housing and Settlement Monitoring

• Optical imagery for settlement detection
• SAR and LiDAR for urban structure mapping
• Monitoring housing quality and materials
• Urban expansion and sprawl analysis

Module 6: Participatory and Mobile Mapping Tools

• Mobile GIS and crowdsourced data collection
• Community mapping for housing and service needs
• Citizen science approaches in settlement analysis
• Integrating local knowledge with GIS

Module 7: GIS for Policy and Planning

• Using GIS to support urban housing policies
• Land tenure and property rights mapping
• GIS for upgrading informal settlements
• Linking poverty mapping to SDGs and global agendas

Module 8: Climate Change and Informal Settlements

• Vulnerability of slums to climate impacts
• GIS for disaster risk mapping in urban poor areas
• Heat, flooding, and environmental stress in informal housing
• Resilience planning with spatial tools

Module 9: Visualization and Communication of Results

• Designing urban poverty dashboards
• Story maps for advocacy and awareness
• Data visualization for inclusive planning
• Communicating results to policymakers and communities

Module 10: Simulation Project

• Mapping poverty and housing vulnerability in a selected city
• Developing a GIS-based slum upgrading plan
• Climate vulnerability assessment for informal settlements
• Presentation and peer review of final projects

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group at requested location all over the world. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, and buffet lunch.

Visa application, travel expenses, airport transfers, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better