29/11/2025 –, Audition Room - 2nd Floor Langue: English
Overview and Rationale
Across Africa's rapidly growing cities, communities remain invisible in formal planning systems despite being well-represented in OpenStreetMap (OSM). While citizens map what matters to them, the analytical potential of this rich OSM data remains largely untapped—especially for education, community advocacy, and understanding urban inequalities.
geo3D
geo3D is an openly licensed Python framework that transforms OSM building footprints into interactive 3D city models and spatial analysis tools. It bridges the gap between grassroots mapping and data-driven urban insights, making sophisticated spatial analysis accessible to educators, NGOs, and community organizations across Africa.
geo3D is timely and novel in that it:
- Connects grassroots mapping with spatial data science;
- Produces ISO-conformant Level of Detail 1 (LoD1) models and lightweight pseudo-3D html visualisations from OSM building footprints;
- Enables value-added analysis like population estimation and BVPC to examine spatial inequality;
- Prioritises pedagogical transparency and reproducibility through open Jupyter Notebook;
- Embeds feedback loops between learning and OSM data improvement by flagging topological errors in buildings for user correction at the source;
- Is designed specifically for place-based learning at the neighbourhood level in African cities and settlements.
This workshop builds on a successful pilot in Cape Town, South Africa, geo3D was used to model local environments and uncover patterns of overcrowding, and housing inequality.
Structure and Activities
Duration: 1.5–1.75 hours
Format: Hands-on workshop with semi-structured demonstrations, peer learning, and Q\&A
- Introduction and Framing (10 minutes): Welcome and orientation to the workshop objectives with overview of geo3D.
- Live Demonstration and Guided Hands-on Activity (80 minutes): Work-through 4 Jupyter notebooks (3D modeling, spatial analysis --population estimation and Building Volume per Capita and visualization.
- Wrap-up and Community Building (15 minutes): Q&A, sharing ideas, and invitation to collaborate on geo3D’s GitHub repo and share derivative research and projects
OSM Alignment and Thematic Fit
geo3D is powered by OpenStreetMap. Its entire workflow—from extraction of building footprints to modelling and metric generation—is designed to extend the value of OSM data into educational, analytical, and advocacy contexts. The tool is intended not only to use OSM, but to enhance and contribute to it: participants are encouraged to detect and correct topological errors in OSM building data through geo3D's built-in diagnostic functions.
Thematically, the workshop aligns strongly with:
- Mapping for social justice and inclusion: by enabling visibility of housing inequality and under-resourced communities.
- Education and capacity-building: by bringing reproducible OSM workflows into classrooms and local organisations.
- Data quality and community verification: by supporting feedback loops between analysis and source improvement.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand how to generate and validate 3D City Models from OSM data using open tools.
- Be able to run and adapt geo3D to perform spatial analysis.
- Learn how to estimate population and BVPC from building data and interpret results in local contexts.
- Gain insights into reproducible workflow design for teaching, research, or community engagement.
- Build confidence to lead similar workshops in their own institutions or communities.
- Leave with links to reusable resources, sample data, and open documentation.
Target Audience and Requirements
Audience:
Primary: educators, community organizers, NGO's and development practitioners seeking accessible tools for spatial analysis and civic engagement. Secondary: OSM contributors interested in extending their mapping impact into advocacy and education
Requirements:
- Participants: Basic familiarity with GIS concepts is recommended but not mandatory. (Skill level: beginner - intermediate)
- Bring: Participants should bring laptops. Installation instructions and sample datasets will be made available.
- Room Requirements: A projector and reliable internet connection are essential for live demonstrations and collaborative exercises.
Reproducibility and Open Access
Participants will leave with a full reproducible pipeline they can adapt, reuse, and share. The workshop models best practices in open science and computational reproducibility.