Community Participatory Mapping of Water Sanitation and Hygiene Access for Sustainable Urban Planning.

Room: Talks II

Sunday, 12:30
Duration: 20 minutes (plus Q&A)

This event will not be recorded.

• Esther Judith

Access to safe water and sanitation is critical for public health and sustainable urban development, yet significant disparities persist in informal settlements across low- and middle-income countries. This study explores inequalities in WASH access within Korogocho and Viwandani which are two densely populated informal settlements in Nairobi, using a participatory geospatial approach. Community members collaborated in mapping key WASH-related assets, including water points, sanitation facilities, and waste collection sites, enabling a detailed spatial understanding often absent in official datasets. A three-stage methodology was applied: participatory asset mapping, field validation using SurveyCTO , and data digitization and uploading onto OpenStreetMap. The process not only improved data quality but also empowered and built capacity of local residents through engagement in data collection and urban planning discussions. Results revealed critical service gaps, facility unreliability, and infrastructure needs, particularly during droughts. Despite Nairobi’s reported high access levels to improved water (96.4%), this figure masks deep inequalities within its informal settlements. By identifying priority areas and visualizing spatial inequalities, participatory GIS offers a scalable model for inclusive planning and equitable WASH interventions. This research underscores the role of community-driven mapping in fostering sustainable urban resilience and informing policy for underserved populations.

This study employed a participatory three-stage approach to assess water access in informal settlements, focusing on mapping, data collection, and open-data sharing through OpenStreetMap (OSM). The first stage involved community participatory mapping, where local residents and leaders identified water access points, sanitation facilities, and waste collection areas, including piped connections, boreholes, and kiosks. This inclusive process addressed gaps in conventional mapping methods by capturing both official and community-used facilities. Focus group discussions provided further insights into the reliability, cost, and accessibility of these services, and the data was digitized using QGIS for spatial analysis. In the second stage, trained community members conducted field validation using SurveyCTO, a GPS-enabled mobile platform, to gather georeferenced water access data. A rigorous cleaning and validation process enhanced the dataset’s reliability by cross-checking with previous spatial datasets. Finally, the dataset was uploaded to OSM, making it publicly accessible for planners, researchers, and decision-makers. A group of community members were involved through all the different stages and trained on how to use the different tools as required. This open-data initiative supports evidence-based urban water planning, enabling stakeholders to prioritize infrastructure and policy interventions in underserved areas, fostering equitable development and improved water access for vulnerable populations.