ÖFSE Report - Online Workshop on Informal Settlements and New Information Technologies - March 20, 2020

On March 20, 2020, the Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE) in cooperation with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Stanford University, and the FUSE project, organized the online workshop: (see documentation here) “Informal settlements – opportunities, risks and challenges of using new technologies.” The workshop – made possible by funding from the Austrian Development Agency and Volkswagen Stiftung – was motivated by the assumption that many critical problems of rapid urbanisation can be addressed by recent technological innovations. Rapid urbanisation entails challenges for cities, particularly in informal settlements where human well-being and living conditions are poor. To address these challenges, novel remote sensing and digital technologies offer means to improve infrastructure and basic services through tools aimed at planning well functioning and sustainable urban spaces.