Jeremy Harkey
GIS Int. Applications
Assignment 6
4/5/11
I. Description of Project
For this project I will ask the question: Based on assessed problems, which areas of the
city would be ideal locations for infrastructure projects that would benefit both IDP and
non-IDP population? I will use data collected by Dr. Karen Jacobsen and her research
team in Santa Marta, to analyze priority intervention areas based on concentrations of
IDPs and specific problems that they face, for example in access to education, potable
water, recreation facilities. I will define “priority intervention areas” in a certain way to
be determined, based on their concentration, and based upon the prevalence of certain
problems (%, for IDP and non-IDP, to be determined).
This is an important issue because of the disenfranchisement of IDP, as well as
marginalized non-IDP, populations that do not receive sufficient State services and can
therefore be considered “insufficiently protected” by the Government. Therefore, my
orientation will be in the sense of informing policy and project decision-makers as to 1)
which areas of the city have concentrations of IDP population; 2) among these, which
areas have high concentrations of IDP populations with XYZ problems [e.g. education,
potable water, police protection], 3) which areas have non-IDP populations with these
same XYZ problems.
(I have yet to refine specifically which protection problems I will consider, and which
parameters I will use for determining “priority” areas.
II. Annotated Bibliography
1. Value of Information Mapping: GIS and UNHCR’s proGres tools
Description:
Franke discusses UNHCR’s technological approaches to mapping refugee and IDP
populations, in the context of their efforts to understand the size, location, problems, and
other aspects. The article discusses the value of GIS analysis, as complemented by
information from UNHCR’s registration software proGres and other observed and
gathered information. It highlights such uses as 1) determining access rivers 2)
determining the location and concentration of certain profiles of refugees (e.g. women 3)
showing these concentrations’ relativity to features such as water access points and such
phenomena as rapes and other crimes that may or may not be specific to certain
populations.
Reference:
Franke, Mark F N. “Refugee registration as foreclosure of the freedom to move: the
virtualisation of refugees' rights within maps of international protection”: Environment
and Planning D: Society and Space 2009, volume 27, pages 352 ^ 369
2. Urban IDP and Non-IDP Access to Rights; Information Gathering and Portrayal
Description:
Jacobsen and Howe use data gathered from a survey of the urban population of Santa
Marta, Colombia to identify and analyze qualities of the population. The survey
distinguishes between a (formulated) IDP population and a non-IDP population, and
looks at their respective demographic and protection characteristics. The report looks at
the distribution of the populations, and maps the physical concentrations of IDP
populations. This report is helpful in that it accesses information about the urban IDP and
non-IDP communities, and provides information on a number of key factors to
understanding why households are there, where they have come from, which challenges
they face, and in what conditions they live. This report is particularly helpful for this very
reason, because it gives a fairly comprehensive understanding of the issues that the
populations face, and ties them to geographic distribution. This information can inform
UNHCR, NGO, and Government policy decisions.
Reference:
Jacobsen, Karen and Howe, Kimberly. Feinstein International Center, Tufts
University, in collaboration with Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Geneva.
“Internal Displacement to Urban Areas: the Tufts-IDMC Profiling Study Santa Marta,
Colombia: Case 3” September 2008
3. Exploring Refugee Economic Activities Within Larger Economy
Description:
This article looks at the economic status and activities of the Somali refugee population
in urban Nairobi Kenya. It responds to the popular and government conception of these
refugees as an economic burden for Kenya, by displaying and analyzing Somali
residents’ businesses, business activities, and their integration into a larger urban and
national economy. These economic activities, as explained, range in nature, location
within the city, their economic strength and the economic profile of the individuals
undertaking them. The article is relevant to my interests because it responds to a
commonly perceived problem for the refugee and national population, by explaining
ways in which these are not true and giving a qualitative, scaled, and geographic
understanding of this information.
Reference:
Campbell, Elizabeth H. “Urban Refugees in Nairobi: Problems of Protection,
Mechanisms of Survival, and Possibilities for Integration”. Journal of Refugee Studies
(September 2006) 19 (3): 396-413. Oxford University Press.
4. Simple Information Portrayal and Value of Extending Analysis by Mapping
Description:
Banki presents and discusses her findings on the situation that Burmese refugees face in
Tokyo, Japan. She looks at the assistance that refugees need and have access to, as well
as needs and situation regarding employment, housing, health care and education. She
conducted a representative survey of the 400-deep refugee population, and although she
looks at specific geographic aspects of these problems, does not sketch out their
occurrence relative to concentrations of refugee population, demographic areas, etc. This
information would have lent to a better ability for government policy analysts and
refugee assistance practitioners to identify needs and design responses. Nonetheless, this
report is helpful in informing the sort of information and relationships that are important
to understanding the situation and needs of a refugee population, especially one so small
as this one.
Reference:
Banki, Susan. “Burmese Refugees in Tokyo: Livelihoods in the Urban Environment”.
Journal of Refugee Studies Vol. 19, No. 3. Oxford University Press.
5. Urban IDP and Non-IDP information analysis and Mapping, contemplating
ethnicity and other factors
Description:
This report is based on a study of IDP and non-IDP population data, including
demographic and livelihood/protection data, in Khartoum, Sudan. The information
gathered is similar to the Santa Marta study, although it seems to pay particular attention
to ethnic differences in the IDPs’ experiences and protection challenges. The charts are
informative, but are not tied to geography; likewise, the maps do not reflect much of the
information that was gathered in the survey. This is helpful in order to understand how
maps can be an important tool to carry both visualization and analysis of information, a
step further in the context of a broader report.
Reference:
Jacobsen, Karen. “Internal Displacement to Urban Areas: the Tufts-IDMC Profiling
Study Khartoum, Sudan: Case 1”. Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
in collaboration with Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Geneva. August 2008
6. Mapping Tools for Humanitarian Practitioners/Policy Makers-Analysts
Description:
The “Field Guide to Emergency Mapping” is helpful in thinking about mapping
humanitarian information in a way that communicates to others the problems on the
ground- and to the workers themselves, so as to understand issues from a visual
perspective. Analysis tools such as proximity, and relationships between populations with
X and/or Y characteristics, can not only inform practitioners in their decisions and
analysis, but also policy designers. This guide is helpful to imagine the projection of
survey and observed information into reports and other informative documents and tools.
Reference:
MapAction: “Field Guide to Humanitarian Mapping”. First Edition, March 2009.
Accessed 4/4/11 online at http://www.mapaction.org/content/view/183/59/
III. Methods I Will Use
-Select by Attribute
-Select by Location
-Spacial Join data to neighborhood
-Geometry calculator
-More to be determined as I develop the project…
IV. Data Layers
Colombia Level 0 (Country)
Colombia Level 1 (Province)
Colombia Level 2 (Municipality- for Santa
Marta)
Colombia Level 3 (Municipality Capital –
for Santa Marta)
Colombia Level 6 (Neighborhood)
Colombia Level 7 (Block)
IDPs per Block
IDPs per Neighborhood ((check admin
bounders))
Non-IDPs Sampled per above geog layer
IDPs and Non-IDPs experiencing specific
protection problems
-Access education for children
-Access to safe/regular water (defined
as e.g. wells, education, potable water,
police protection, other)
GIST
GIST
GIST
Geobis (purchased by Study)
Geobis (purchased by Study)
Geobis (purchased by Study)
Jacobsen/Feinstein study
Jacobsen/Feinstein study
Jacobsen/Feinstein study
Jacobsen/Feinstein study