The effects of the Maputo ring road on the quantity and quality of nearby housing

On 20 August 2020, Peter Fisker, researcher at the University of Copenhagen, will discuss his latest research on how the Maputo ring road has affected city development around Greater Maputo. 

The presentation is based on the UNU-WIDER Working Paper ‘The effects of the Maputo ring road on the quantity and quality of nearby housing’. 

The presentation will be in Portuguese. 

To join the seminar and take part in the discussion, register here. By registering, you agree to be added to UNU-WIDER’s customer relationship management system under the Institute’s terms and conditions (Privacy statement and Disclaimer). 

Please note that the presentations will be recorded. The presentation slides and the recording will be shared with the seminar participants soon after the event. 

About the research 

Using convolutional neural networks applied to satellite images covering a 25 km x 12 km rectangle on the northern outskirts of Greater Maputo, the authors of the research detect and classify buildings from 2010 and 2018 in order to compare the development in quantity and quality of buildings from before and after construction of a major section of ring road. 

In addition, the authors analyse how the effects vary by distance to the road and conclude that the area has seen large overall growth in both quantity and quality of housing, but it is not possible to distinguish growth close to the road from general urban growth. 

Finally, the paper contributes methodologically to a growing strand of literature focused on combining machine-learning image recognition and the availability of high-resolution satellite images. It examines the extent to which it is possible to exploit these methods to analyse changes over time and thus provide an alternative (or complement) to traditional impact analyses.

About the IGM Seminar Series  

The online IGM Seminar Series provides a space to discuss research themes with a focus on the challenges of promoting inclusive growth in Mozambique at a time of overlapping crises: the economic and financial crisis of hidden debt, the climate crisis, and the global health crisis.