Mapping slums and model population density using earth observation data and open source solutions

Abstract

This paper presents a collection of frameworks aiming at mapping land cover, land use and estimate population densities from very-high resolution images and relying on open-source software. Using height information and landscape metrics, slums location and extent can be accurately extracted from the rest of the city. Moreover, the processing chain developed can deal with large amount of data and produce useful pieces of geographical information citywide. All the results, methods and computer code are available in open-access for anyone and any purpose.