Applications of Geographical Information System Infrastructure in urban land management in Tanzania

Abstract

Community involvement in urban land regularisation process as an urban land management entity in securing tenure decisions process integrations with Geographical Information System (GIS) has long been recognized and discussed in national and international fora for land improvement in informal urban settlements. The challenges emanating from the discussion among others, limited application of GIS tools to create habitable human shelter in the context of urban environmental change, ineffective use of GIS technology in decision making at a local level, lack of updating the index numbers to reflect migratory trends in urban areas and changes of housing ownership in the rapidly growing settlements, which seems unmet. This paper contributes to this evolving debate focusing on how local community participates in land regularisation process and how effectively Geographical Information System can be applied in improving land development and management in urban neighborhoods which have grown as informal settlements. The case of Ubungo Darajani in Dar es Salaam city is taken as an example and it provides lessons potential for community involvement, effective use of Geographical Information System and policy gaps to be addressed in urban land management at the local level.

Keywords: Community Involvement, GIS Infrastructure, Land Regularisation, Informal Settlements, Security of Tenure