Analyzing Urban Poverty: GIS for the Developing World

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This book provides a sensible and human approach to analyzing poverty, recognizing that people in poor settlements have strong values and vernacular capacities that must be enhanced and assessed when working on improving quality of life. In developing countries, squatter developments are without infrastructure—dense with dwellings without ownership and built from materials at hand. Yet they house more than one-third of the urban population in developing countries and are valued by residents. The scope and depth of urban poverty in squatter developments require immediate action. Analyzing Urban Poverty: GIS for the Developing World shows how geographic information system (GIS) technology can be used in developing countries to improve quality of life in poor urban areas. With 30 years of experience using GIS technology to manage urban problems in Venezuelan barrios, Rosario Giusti de Pérez and Ramón Pérez describe how they developed sustainable solutions that go beyond conventional planning programs. Chapters cover site analyses of the natural and built environments, visualizing poverty maps, developing appropriate improvement proposals, managing these projects, and organizing communities and encouraging their participation.

Rosario Giusti de Pérez received her degree in architecture from Zulia University in Venezuela and received her master’s in urban design at the University of Pennsylvania. She was a professor of architecture at Zulia University for 23 years. All her urban designs have won national competitions. Currently, she is the director of ESRI Venezuela and lives in Maracaibo.

Ramón Pérez received his degree in architecture from the University of Los Andes in Mérida, Venezuela, and his master’s in urban design from the University of Pennsylvania. He was the director of the Architecture and Environmental Systems Research Institute at Zulia University for five years. He has consulted on GIS on projects throughout Central and South America. Currently, he is the president of ESRI Venezuela and lives in Maracaibo.

Both authors have written numerous articles and papers on urban policies and design and GIS.