Remote sensing, GIS, & peri-urban settlements : the case of ger districts in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The world is at the brink of an urban crisis. Several hundred million poor people will be born in nations throughout the global South by the middle of the century, mostly in impoverished urban communities in less developed countries unprepared to provide the kinds of social services and infrastructure needed for growing populations. A particular pattern of urban growth – periurbanization – has emerged since the post-war development project began, yet it remains a poorly understand process. A pervasive lack of baseline data concerning peri-urban population continues to preclude equitable and inclusive urbanization, leading to what the United Nations describes as the global Urban Divide. This thesis will suggest that Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems offer the potential to ensure communities in the global South have the kinds of fundamental baseline data needed to tackle the Urban Divide. Generating these baseline data and mapping the world’s ‘forgotten places’ should be seen as a powerful way to change the conversation about urban inequality and marginalization. The effects of the urban crisis can be greatly mitigated for the world’s most vulnerable people only if their voices are heard and their existence is acknowledged.