Development of a Web-based Informal Cadastre for an Informal Settlement in Nairobi A Case Study of Mukuru Sinai Settlement

Abstract

Informal Settlements are commonly found in urban areas in developing countries. They emerge due to inadequate housing that is affordable to the many migrants moving to the city in search of employment and business opportunities. The settlements face the challenge of security of tenure. The existing records which constitute their manual informal cadastre of the settlement are usually manual and incase of fire they easily get destroyed. Developments in the web and mapping technologies have created the drive towards building web based systems for information management and for visualization. The main objective of this project is to develop a web based informal cadastre for an informal settlement. It aligns the settlement into the continuum of rights with an anticipation of upgrading by the government in the near future. The study developed a Postgres/PostGIS database, used open geospatial technologies to create a web mapping application which was hosted online on a web page domain where the informal cadastre was accessed. Test results of the Web-based Informal Cadastre indicated that it was possible to search a structure in the settlement using a structure number, users were able to view and download data, and update of the attribute data of a structure online.