The Role of Geospatial Information and Effective Partnerships in the Implementation of the International Agenda for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (2014), repeated the core promise in the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, in which the General Assembly called for an approach guaranteeing meaningful participation of everyone in development and the fair distribution of the benefits of that development. To this end, partnerships are central and can lead to the dignity of the citizens involved as they participate in the development of their own communities. This dissertation research conducted in Manyatta A and B in the Port City of Kisumu, Kenya sought to do just that. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the role of participatory development planning and collaborative technology platforms of geographic information systems (GIS) and GeoDesign in strengthening sustainable development and enhancing of human dignity. The study used a multimethod design comprised of participatory action research, situational analysis, problem tree analysis, and stakeholder analysis approaches in partnership with the government, academia, business, civil society, and other stakeholders. The study shows how the newly formed government structure, post devolution, provides a functional framework to assist county and city governments to better determine and envision the future they want. This vision can be realized more rapidly through integrated planning to achieve poverty eradication and social, economic, and environmental sustainability, which are the three pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The citizens of informal settlements represent those who are farthest behind and who should be given priority. This study demonstrated the potential of inclusive and participatory development planning in restoring the dignity of those groups. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/, and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.ed