Smart Cities: The Missing Piece

https://www.smart-city-dialog.de/en/latest/events/smart-cities-missing-piece
How can spatial data help make cities more equitable and resilient? In this Global Mixer, Shoaib Burq highlights how the collaboration between Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and local partners in Freetown has led to the creation of an open geospatial foundation that unifies scattered data and makes it usable for community-driven analysis, mapping, and planning. Building on this work, Geobase serves as an open backend that supports local initiatives in flood assessment, air-quality monitoring, and participatory urban planning - using tools such as K-Block and AI-assisted satellite image search. The focus is not on technology for its own sake, but on connecting people, data, and practical tools. The input shows how these connections open new pathways for sustainable, community-led urban development.

This event is part of the ISCN Global Mixer, a series of events organized by the International Smart Cities Network. The presentations cover a wide range of topics related to international smart city approaches and provide exciting insights into urban digitalization worldwide - in just 30 minutes.

Transcript

1. The Missing Piece Making Cities More Equitable with a wholistic approach to Data & Technology SDI • Geobase • GIZ Global Mixer 2025-12-11 Shoaib Burq, Decision Labs, Berlin
2. Who Am I? • Geoscience Australia ocean mapping • GIS coordinator during national emergencies • Research scientist in computer science FU • Decision Labs founder - cutting edge geospatial software development • Semi-professional dog-waker !
3. Salma's Story - Karachi Heatwave Salma is a widow and mother of nine. She works 12 hours a day at a crab factory in Machar Colony, Karachi. In 2015, a heatwave killed her two children: nine-year-old Noor and 16- year-old Rasheed. They lived in a one-room house with an iron sheet roof. Source: ARY News
4. Vulnerabilities • Extreme heat: Tin roofs, 46°C+, high humidity • No basic services: No clean water, sanitation, electricity • Water costs: Spends ~50% income (PKR 150/day) on water • Poor housing: Makeshift huts, sewage-mixed seawater
5. Vulnerabilities continued... • No early warnings: Heatwave alerts • Limited healthcare: Small private clinics, minimal • Economic risk: Daily wage labor, no safety net • Environmental hazards: Mangroves block breeze, sewage • Settlement status: "Illegal" = no government services
6. The Email Hi Shoaib, Here's the paper and the code we talked about last week. Let me know if you have any questions. Best, Annie Buekus SDI, Know Your City, Technical Manager
8. How could the K-Block work help people like Salma? We would need to make it dynamic: • Real-time (not fixed snapshot) • Baseline for local planning • Community-collected data integration • Local context and community knowledge • Actionable proposals generation • Building political momentum/ evidence packets
12. SDI Partnership
16. So what is common about all these demos?
17. Connecting People, Data, and Tools
18. Community-Led Urban Development
19. What's Next: Workspaces & Multi-User-Scenario Planning » Open up the tools to a wider user base » Multi-User interaction & workspaces » Reality from latest data from community survey » Reports to help in rights advocacy
20. What's Next: Sensor Feeds (Early Warning)
21. What's Next: Strengthening Community Skills
23. Hope in Machar Colony Education has become the foremost priority for Machar Colony's children. Anwara with her children in a single room quarter. Source: Dawn News
24. Thank You & Happy Holidays! Support Education & Community Initiatives ! The Citizens Foundation (TCF): www.tcf.org.pk Supporting education in communities like Machar Colony (Disclosure: I am not affiliated with TCF) ! Other causes: Consider supporting community-led initiatives, climate resilience, or education programs this season
25. ! shoaib@decision-labs.com " linkedin.com/in/shoaibburq ! https://geobase.app " https://decision-labs.com # youtube.com/@geobase ! Support TCF: www.tcf.org.pk
26. Images & Media: - Multibeam ship image: Harris, P. & Baker, E. (2012). Why Map Benthic Habitats? - Figure - Ship photo (Sonne): Photo by Stephane Devriendt - Salma's Story: ARY News - Article - Dawn News images (Anwara with children, tin roofs, Machar Colony): Dawn News - Article - SDI Tanzania image: Slum Dwellers International - Article | Image - SDI paper mapping Tanzania image: Slum Dwellers International (Flickr) - Photo - IoT dashboard image: mhevia.com - Article | Image
27. Research: - K-Block algorithm: Research on informal settlement parcels and accessibility analysis (Annie Buekus, SDI Know Your City)
28. Partners: - Slum Dwellers International (SDI) - CODOHSAPA (Freetown) - Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT)