When I picked up this book I did not
know what to expect. It is not a topic that is often discussed or
written about. Authors Rosario C. Giusti de Perez and Ramon A. Perez
take us on a journey inside the world of urban development for developing
nations. As two of the earliest users of GIS, dating back to 1976,
even before 'GIS' was used a term, they describe their award winning
efforts using GIS in the squatter communities of Venezuela – known as
barrios.
Analyzing Urban Poverty
GIS for the Developing World
Rosario Giusti de Pérez and Ramón Pérez
ESRI Press
125 pages; 2008 - ISBN: 9781589481510
29.85 USD / 19.37 Euro
Review by Jeff Thurston
When I picked up this book I did not
know what to expect. It is not a topic that is often discussed or
written about. Authors Rosario C. Giusti de Perez and Ramon A. Perez
take us on journey inside the world urban development for developing
nations. As two of the earliest users of GIS, dating back to 1976,
even before 'GIS' was used a term, they describe their award winning
efforts in the squatter communities of Venezuela – known as
barrios. Their work involved ESRI as a consultant whose product
names, at that time, many of us had never heard of. The authors
clearly had a vision that GIS could play an integral role in
understanding poverty and developing urban planning solutions through
its use.
In Venezuela 85% of the population
lives in urban communities and 50% of them live in barrios. These
communities are often considered “cities within the city” and
whose development is largely guided by the needs of the residents and
apart from formal planning jurisdiction. The hillside communities
populate unfavourable terrain and require new rules designed to
accommodate their unique needs and situation.
In Venezuela 85% of the population
lives in urban communities and 50% of them live in barrios. These
communities are often considered “cities within the city” and
whose development is largely guided by the needs of the residents and
apart from formal planning jurisdiction.
Within the first chapter the authors
expertise and experience in seeing, understanding and evalution
capabilities become clear. They point to the issue of land ownership
as a key factor in developing urban plans. They identify the lack of
public places in barrios as a sign of poverty and the relationship of
poor terrain with steep slopes as signifying areas of poverty also.
Site analysis is given considerable attention, although the lack of
GIS data is often the case for poverty ridden areas. As a
consequence these areas are assessed when projects begin and planning
is often developed within a context that includes site assessment,
data collection and analysis.
However, “the real use of GIS is to
identify the absent or scarce social needs and locate them in the
best possible space,” the authors mention. Accordingly, the first
chapter ends by summarizing a strategy for assessment and data
collection and provides the reader with several 'rules of thumb' for
conducting this work.
Chapter 2 is focused on the site
analysis in detail and includes a short discussion on 'threshold
theory' where environmental variables are discussed. It is notable
that terrain analysis is discussed at length given that barrios are
situated on some of the steepest slopes in the cities. Issues like
land classification and use are also presented, providing a
indication of the structure and form of these areas. Vegetation
issues are outlined and a feasibility model for development on such
lands is described, that is built upon the ModelBuilder software
available from ESRI.
In the third chapter entitled 'Site
Analysis of the Urban-Built' attention shifts to the physical
structures on the landscape and their corresponding social networks.
Sub-divisions and boundaries are discussed and this chapter proves
interesting because it attempts to describe the process of mapping
social boundaries, which are often not easy to define and delineate.
The book provides a method for approaching this and it is important
to frame this effort within the context of the book and other
material presented. In other words, the authors bring their
collective knowledge to bear on this topic, linking physical
structure to social structure for sustainable quality living.
Chapter 4 – Poverty Mapping –
begins the journey into a more detailed discussion on the topic of
poverty to maps. Described in terms of quality of life, the
manifestation of poverty presented. For professionals in the field of
urban planning, this chapter can be considered important reading
because it underlines the issues unique to poverty related land use
as compared to non-poverty situated areas that many planners are more
commonly involved with – but which they simply do not know how to
see or assess, even though they are likely present in most cities.
The discussion about mapping invisible
poverty is quite interesting because it assesses factors unique to
the barrios, but also because it attempts to describe and map
intangible variables that many of us attempt to map that are usually
less defined and more sociological in nature. The book presents a
'poverty index' for assessing these variables relative to public
facilities and transportation networks. Urban planning is the primary
focus of the fifth chapter. Case studies are presented and
intervention strategies are provided, referring to projects in the
previous chapter. “Whether an area can change depends on whether it
can be accessed.”
It is worthwhile to note that
conventional planning issues are not fully similar to those which
arise in poverty communities like the barrios. There are many more
types of structures in these areas with many types of materials in
use. They interface government levels in different ways, sometimes
not at all.
Accessibility is a recurring theme in
this book, extending from the physical structure and location of the
poverty areas. A plan developed for one area that would result in
better access had the side effect of removing 500 homes. Another
involving greater access would mean the building of a intricate web
of switch-backs (roads that turn back on themselves) because of the
steep slopes that barrios are located on. We sometimes take for
granted the ease with which planning can proceed and construction
beginning on more or less flat land with favourable soil and geology.
Chapter 6 is oriented to the topic of
managing improvement projects using GIS. It is worthwhile to note
that conventional planning issues are not fully similar to those
which arise in poverty communities like the barrios. There are many
more types of structures in these areas with many types of materials
in use. They interface government levels in different ways, sometimes
not at all. Yet, these communities can also develop along a path of
maturity which slowly raises their presence and identification in the
eyes of government, thus garnering more services. ArcGIS Tracking
Analyst is used to track project costs in the example given and
project investment costs are managed and information provided. The
final chapter of this book addresses the issue of public
participation into the community development process. Topics include
community associations, organizations and the example of the barrio
of Petare is provided.
In summary this book is a worthwhile
read and valuable to own. The authors are clearly experienced and
professional in seeing, understanding and developing solutions for
poverty situated communities. Their knowledge is manifested in the
numerous criteria, variables and rules which they consider in
analyzing urban poverty. But I found this book to be an 'eye-opener'
possibly for use by all urban planners in general, for the same
reason. The book provides clues and experiences about looking at
communities in new and different ways. It will therefore be
useful for other communities and situations where poverty needs
to be assessed, analyzed and appropriate strategies developed.
Analyzing Urban Poverty contains the information needed to see,
understand and develop urban solutions for poverty ridden areas using
GIS tools so these communities can flourish, grow and enjoy a higher
quality of life.
When I picked up this book I did not
know what to expect. It is not a topic that is often discussed or
written about. Authors Rosario C. Giusti de Perez and Ramon A. Perez
take us on a journey inside the world of urban development for developing
nations. As two of the earliest users of GIS, dating back to 1976,
even before 'GIS' was used a term, they describe their award winning
efforts using GIS in the squatter communities of Venezuela – known as
barrios.