Mapping Kenya: 15 Years of Map Kibera and beyond
2024-09-07 , Maasai Mara

Map Kibera arose from a desire to expand OSM beyond the confines of Europe and North America. In 2009, it pushed the boundaries of what then-new technologies could do. What have the mappers learned over the years? This talk will welcome you to Nairobi and through the ups and downs of mapping in Kenya - from the history of mapping in 20th Kenya, through Map Kibera’s start, into slums and rural parts of Kenya, and finally to current-day Kibera, where mappers are mapping street lights, waste disposal, schools, and more. How has Map Kibera and OSM had a community impact even as drones, satellite technology and AI are revolutionizing mapping? What has changed, and what has remained the same? We will discuss the global impact of Map Kibera, on community-based mapping in OSM and on the general application of technology in developing countries.


This talk will include a discussion of mapping in Kenya dating back to the colonial era, the establishment of Kibera as a region of Nairobi, and its growth into a massive informal settlement. Kibera has been viewed as a place to develop by the Kenya government, International aid agencies, charities, and missionaries. It was a flashpoint of the post-election violence of 2007/8. Map Kibera’s Kenyan leaders will discuss the most recent mapping and local impacts made by the use of OSM. Mapping of street lights in Kibera led to new and more street lights installed in Kibera. Mapping of waste management in Mukuru led to the placement of dumping waste bins. Data on schools has led to a pilot project to install solar panels on selected schools. None of these impacts have been easy, but we will share lessons learned about OSM, open data and communities. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of emerging and ever-changing technology, and the fate of the techno-optimism of the early 21st century.


Talk keywords:

OpenStreetMap, OpenData, CommunityMapping, Kenya

See also: Presentation Slides (7.3 MB)

Joshua Ogure, is the general manager for Map Kibera Trust, he is also the team leader for Kibera News Network, a citizen journalism program in Kibera Slum. Josh has a wide range of experience working in the informal settlements. As a project manager and a community journalist, he has led the team towards a successful project dubbed Open Schools Kenya. (www.openschoolskenya.org). He strives to make the invisible visible using OpenStreetMap data and journalism for change and advocacy. In 2016, Josh won an Open Data award with Map Kibera under the Social Impact category.

Erica is the co-founder and current trustee of Map Kibera Trust, a groundbreaking Kenyan NGO that uses maps, data and video to empower communities, and director of the consulting company GroundTruth Initiative. Erica helped develop the field of participatory open community mapping in urban informal settlements. She also worked with the World Bank and the American Geographical Society to research sustainable OSM communities and the ethical use of geospatial technologies. Following many years working primarily with OSM and mapping, Erica joined the USAID foreign service in 2022 and lives in the Dominican Republic.