UAVs, Land Use Planning and Community Engagement: The Potential of Drones to Implement the New Urban Agenda

This training session introduces Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, and several associated software programs as novel tools for community surveying and land use planning. As populations increase and both formal and informal settlements grow, UAV footage allows an efficient, repeatable, and low-cost means of collecting real time data and mapping. Presenters will review the various processes and procedures faced when using drone technology in developing countries; common applications for processing data into easy-to-read imagery and graphical representations; as well as ways for using the data to facilitate community engagement in planning activities. Presenters will discuss their practical experiences using UAVs, which range from surveying informal growth in dense urban environs such as in Barranquilla, Colombia and Mumbai, India, and mapping remote, uneven terrain in Perquín, El Salvador. The session is divided into two parts: one, a drone and data processing tutorial: Safe operation of a drone, hardware considerations, advice on purchasing, data collection methods, the different software available, and post-processing, i.e. information around processing the data and applying it to decision making and community planning. Followed by an audience Q&A; and depending on venue constraints, a drone flight simulation. Part two, will focus on presenters’ case studies, in order to engage the audience in a dialogue on the possible benefits, obstacles, costs, and diverse applicability of the technology. This training event is intended for a variety of stakeholders, ranging from government officials and grassroots organization to project funders and implementers.