GIS and Spatial Mapping of Single Family Housing Estates in Port Harcourt Urban Fringes

Abstract

This article provides a spatial analytical framework for using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology in housing research. It examines the spatial mapping of single family housing estates in Port Harcourt Urban fringes and discusses how GIS can aid with empirical research investigations. GIS, coupled with spatial analytical tools, offers an ideal research environment for processing, analyzing, and modeling housing data sets. GIS offers powerful data mapping and visualization functionality to facilitate spatial explorations of the data. The source of data for this article was primary and was obtained using hand-held GPS.  The article clearly shows the Global Positioning System (GPS) location and elevation of all the sampled housing estates in the study area and the first geo-referenced map of single family housing estates in Port Harcourt urban fringe area. This is very important for policy formulation because it enables researchers and policy analysts to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative policy tools for controlling undesirable spatial outcomes.

Keywords: GIS; Spatial mapping; Single Family Housing Estates; Urban Fringes