In Kenya's Slums, Mapping A Path To Less Destruction


Slums around cities like Nairobi are threatened as city governments seek to demolish them. One way to help, or at least give residents time to prepare to seek new homes, is a host of different types of mapping. By defining the problem - the problem being the thousands of residents and homes in slums - it becomes harder for governments to ignore those people. Map Kibera uses the software OpenStreetMap to allow for “participatory mapping,” and physical maps have proven success too. Mapping isn’t always enough, but it is an important starting point in the fight for slum residents to keep their homes.

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