Open Data – Ramani Huria

Community Data for Improved Disaster Management and Urban Planning – Mwanza, Tanzania

*Photo: Primoz Kovacic, Spatial Collective*

Community generated data has proven to be the most reliable information that reflects the community’s situation and the challenges they face. Working with community members to collect data in their own neighborhood increases data reliability, validity and its ultimate use as the community believes in the data and has a sense of ownership.

Spatial Collective, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, and OpenMap Development Tanzania spent the last five months expanding its community mapping initiatives to Mwanza City. Working with 79 students from the Institute of Rural Development Planning (IRDP) and St. Augustine University of Tanzania we were able to collect a series of disaster-related data touching on flood-prone areas, rockfall incidents, urban exposure, and drainage infrastructure. The work focused on two municipalities: Nyamagana and Ilemela.

As we explained in one of our earlier posts Mwanza City is rapidly urbanizing with a lot of its growth concentrated in unplanned areas with approximately 81 percent of households situated in hazard-prone areas. Community knowledge was key to understanding the extent of these problems. For this reason, the consortium trained the students and communities on how to use cheap and widely available tools, such as mobile phones, GPS units, and satellite imagery to collect data on urban risks stemming from flooding and rockfalls.

Data Collected

Using a mixed-method approach consisting of digitizing the satellite imagery, mobile and GPS field data collection, community consultations, and stakeholder meetings, we were able to collect:

More than 300,000 buildings using satellite imagery
More than 15,000 points on flood-prone areas using mobile phones
More than 800 point on rockfall-prone areas using mobile phones
More than 80,000 points on urban exposure using mobile phones, and
At the moment of this writing 1700 drain segments with 145.013km

of drainage lines and 4300 drainage related points of interest have been mapped using a combination of mobile phones and DIY RTK units.

Insights from community members and leaders

Below are some of the quotes taken directly from community members and leaders who were directly involved in the process of data collection

“The data helps me as a community leader to represent the challenges with evidence to the higher authorities, I will especially like drainage data to be collected as it will show the real situation of the narrow drains in our subward.” Juma Kasudi, Mjumbe – Mwinuko subward

“The collected data will help in the warning system, enabling the communities to at least evacuate before flooding. We can also present the flooding issue to the district council as we have datasets that explain the whole situation. It’s now our duty as community leaders to educate our community that the data does not lead to house demolition or relocation but rather finding solutions”. Joseph Chui, Mjumbe – Kitangiri

“Kitangiri is one of the severely affected wards by floods and rockfalls. Schools are also affected, making me worried as a leader that one day students may get hurt or even die. I hope the data can reach the right actors and lead to the construction of permanent structures especially drainage systems”. Robert Charles, Chairman – Kitangiri A subward.

Outcomes of our engagement

Capacity building to 79 university students – final year students will use the same software in their research and dissertations as it has proved to be a more cost-effective way of gathering data
Requests from the university lecturers to teach more about open-source tools used in data collection
Raising awareness to community members and local leaders on the importance of data use in making decisions

Field data collection, Photo: Primoz Kovacic, Spatial Collective

Challenges during data collection

Nature of the terrain and accessibility; Mwanza is characterized by highly dissected steep slopes and rocky hills making it more difficult for mappers to collect data especially in the slums
Misinterpretation of the project; communities believed that the mapping will lead to the demolition of their houses and possible relocation. The mappers had to carefully and mindfully explain the goals of the project and that the project is not in any way connected to relocation
Political issues; the general election posed some challenges to obtaining permissions on time

What is next?

After the mapping and curation of all datasets, we expect to hold a workshop with the potential data users to ensure they have the ability to access and use these data for informed decision making. The workshop will involve key stakeholders like community leaders, road agency authorities, regional disaster departments, etc.

Equipping University Students with Digital Geospatial Skills– More than 10,000 Flood Data Points Mapped in Eight Weeks

Training and working with university students has been a core part of the Ramani Huria project since it started in 2015. Since then, we have trained over 1,000 university students in industrial placements, equipping them with the valuable open geospatial skills they can use in their careers. While training students, we have also been able to collect a variety of datasets to support urban resilience programs, particularly flood preparedness in Dar es Salaam.

Over these past five years, we have improved our skills-sharing with students. This not only enables reliable and cost-effective data acquisition thanks to their work, but it also exposes them to new ways of doing things without investing a lot of money on expensive equipment. For example, we familiarize students with accessible open tools and software that they can use beyond their industrial placement.

Deploying students in the field

Working with the Tanzania Resilience Academy to train 200 university students from three universities between September and November 2020, we were able to give them field mapping experience while collecting flood-extent data in flood-prone areas in Dar es Salaam.

In the past two months, students were able to work with community members from 20 wards in Dar es Salaam to collect data on the extent and depth of water when it floods. The data collected will build upon the already existing data from our river cross-section survey to further develop the city flood model to help predict and prepare for future flooding.

One of our goals is exposing students to the latest open-source geospatial technologies and innovations. We gave a small team a low-cost dual-frequency (u-blox) receiver that they used to collect ground control points using the precise point positioning (PPP) technique, providing data with a high level of position accuracy that could be used for rectifying drone imagery. This work created the data we required for these catchment areas while also equipping students with skills in using low-cost equipment that is readily available.

As it is a fundamental skill for any newcomers to the geospatial world, we also trained students in digitizing building footprints using JOSM software. The students then updated the already digitized buildings in Dar es Salaam using up-to-date high-resolution, 2020 Maxar imagery with 50 cm accuracy.

“Many companies and organizations need spatial skills that meet their business or industrial needs. The skills I gained as a student may pave the way to different opportunities that will require digital geospatial skills” – Batuly Lukonge, Student, UDSM.

Digitization of Buildings, Photo: Chris Morgan, World Bank

Call for Action

We advise organizations and startups that are eager to equip youth with relevant industrial and technical skills to work directly with students and engage them in real-world projects. This supports them academically and creates a cohort of youth that are problem solvers and ready to take part in this technologically advancing world. It also makes them marketable in the 21st Century, supporting them in competing for opportunities around the world.