Supporting the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues

Today, 56% of the world's population lives in cities, and this trend is expected to continue. However, most people do not live in the big cities whose names we know (think Mumbai, London, Cairo), but rather in what are known as "secondary cities." While definitions for this term vary, what is clear is they are the fastest growing urban areas in developing countries. These cities are unique environments that experience unplanned and informal growth patterns, making it difficult to secure and sustain themselves. Given that most people live in these cities, improving the resilience of these cities is critical. See the story map for more info.

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Secondary cities have generally been poorly mapped, with limited data and information on infrastructure, land tenure, and planning.

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We provided a Principal Investigator and a Humanitarian Research Analyst to create and facilitate the Secondary Cities (2C) initiative of the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues. Our Principal Investigator traveled to each regional hub, listening to regional stakeholders to understand unique challenges that geospatial analysis and technologies could help resolve. She helped build community capacity, training participants on data collection and open-source geospatial technologies. Our team’s support included translation services, collecting feedback, coordinating networking opportunities, and facilitating a collaborative knowledge base. With local geospatial capacity, secondary cities can develop the data needed for urban planning and resource management, building greater resilience and emergency preparedness.