Integrated Urban Data Platform for Sustainable and Resilient Cities in Kenya through Earth Observation

The “Integrated Urban Data Platform - Application for Urban Centres in Kenya” is a flagship project driven by the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF), with technical collaboration from the GDA AID Urban Sustainability consortium. This initiative targets one of the most pressing issues in Africa’s urban landscape, the urban data divide. In Kenya, where unplanned urban growth challenges cities like Nairobi, the lack of accessible, consistent, and analyzable urban data has long obstructed inclusive planning, effective governance, and investment readiness.

To address this gap, the project developed a National Urban Observatory, a centralized hub that enables cross-boundary urban analytics, supports evidence-based policymaking, and empowers urban planners with geospatial insights. By integrating EO-derived datasets such as settlement expansion maps, land use/land cover (LULC) classifications, transport network layouts, digital elevation models, and 3D building footprints, the platform delivers a panoramic and actionable view of Kenya’s urban transformation spanning nearly four decades. The project aligns with AfDB’s goals of enhancing liveability, resilience, and sustainability of African cities through digitized governance and data transparency.