Shabani Magawila
Shabani Magawila is a Tanzanian urban planner, GIS and Remote Sensing specialist, and open geospatial advocate based in Dodoma, Tanzania. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Urban Development and Environmental Management from the Institute of Rural Development Planning (IRDP).
His journey with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) began in 2017, when he co-founded and served as president of the IRDP YouthMappers chapter in Mwanza, together with Janet Chapman and Benedicta Hosea. He later served as supervisor at the IRDP YouthMappers chapter in Dodoma.
With over 8,150 edits on OpenStreetMap since June 2017, Shabani has been an active mapper contributing to Tanzania's infrastructure and communities. Through HOT, he participated in several major projects, including Ramani Huria in Dar es Salaam, the WomenConnect project in Mara, a Road Import project in Dodoma, and the Mnadani Community Mapping Project in Dodoma, where he served as Project Leader. He also served as HOT Data Quality Intern in 2022.
Professionally, Shabani is the founder of OpenGeoCity Tanzania and has worked as a GIS and mapping specialist with Ramani Huria, Crowd2Map, and NBS Tanzania, as well as an intern at Esri Eastern Africa in Solution Architecture. He is also a Voting Member of OpenStreetMap. His technical skills span Python, QGIS, ArcGIS, Google Earth Engine, and web development frameworks, and he is currently exploring AI and deep learning for satellite image analysis.
Shabani's work is guided by a commitment to "empowering communities through geospatial technology and open data."
Session
As Africa’s cities grow rapidly, the need for informed planning, accessible transport systems, and smarter infrastructure becomes more urgent. This workshop introduces participants to practical geospatial analysis using Python and OSMnx, a powerful open-source tool that allows anyone to extract, visualize, and analyze street networks directly from OpenStreetMap (OSM).
Participants will learn step-by-step how to download real-world urban road networks, perform routing and network analysis, and generate useful insights that support decision-making in transport, accessibility, and sustainable urban development. By focusing on real examples from Tanzanian cities such as Dar es Salaam or Dodoma, this session turns complex geospatial problems into simple, actionable workflows.
Whether you are a planner, analyst, student, or civic tech enthusiast, this workshop will empower you to use open data and code to map the future of your city.
Overview
In this 60-minute session, OpenGeoCity Tanzania will guide participants through the entire process of performing urban spatial analysis using the Python programming language and OSMnx — a Python library designed to work directly with OSM data.
You will not only learn how to visualize road networks, but also how to measure urban form, model accessibility, and analyze infrastructure gaps using real-time geospatial data. This workshop brings together the power of open data, open-source software, and local knowledge to build smarter and more connected communities.
What You Will Learn:
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
➤ Access OpenStreetMap Data with Python
Learn how to download roads, buildings, and key features using simple code.
➤ Visualize and Explore Urban Networks
Create basic maps and explore the layout of streets and city structure.
➤ Analyze Connectivity and Accessibility
Measure how well areas are connected and find the shortest routes between places.
➤ Apply Insights to Real Urban Challenges
Use open data to support better planning, transport, and service delivery.
Who Should Attend:
This workshop is designed for:
➤ Urban Planners and Transport Specialists
➤ GIS Analysts and Developers
➤ City Managers and Government Data Units
➤ Students and Researchers in Urban Studies
➤ Community Mappers and OSM Contributors
➤ Anyone interested in building data-driven cities