Geo-Spatial Technologies For Infrastructure Accessibility In Smart City Development: Case Of Bishoftu City, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Urban Infrastructure Is One Of The Strongest Drivers For Sustainable Urban Development And Living Standards In Urbanizing Towns Like Bishoftu. Despite Urbanization Advancing Very Rapidly, Most Of The Towns In Ethiopia Lack Uniform Access To Basic Facilities. The Objective Of The Analysis Was To Identify The Extent In Coverage And Accessibility Of The Major Urban Infrastructure In Bishoftu City Using The Tool Geo-Spatial Technology. Satellite Images In High Resolution, Open Street Map (Osm) Data, And Official Infrastructure Record Data Were Principal Sources Of Primary Data For Analysis. Preprocessing The Data Involved The Digitizing The Infrastructure Layers (Health Center, Road, School, Water Point) And Cleaning The Attribute Table For Consistency And Geographic Accuracy. Spatial Analysis And Network Analysis Were Applied In Gis Tools And Accessibility Models Such As Proximity Analysis And Service Area Mapping Through Road Networks. The Analysis Revealed Deep-Rooted Urban Infrastructure Disparities In Delivery And Availability In Bishoftu City. It Revealed That The Greater Part Of Infrastructure Facilities Like Schools, Medical Facilities, And Road Infrastructure Is Mostly In The Center And Western Part Of The City, While The Residential Peripheral Areas, Specifically The Eastern And Southeastern Parts, Remain Mostly Underdeveloped. Network Analysis, In Addition, Revealed That Up To 40% Of The Peripheral Population Is Beyond 3 To 5 Kilometers Away From Core Facilities, With Limited Access Through All-Weather Road Networks And Public Transport. Overlay Of The Population Density On The Infrastructure Layers Provided An Extreme Mismatch Between The Availability Of The Service Versus The Population Demand In High-Growth Peripheral Areas. All These Suggest The Requirement For An Equitable Spatial Strategy In Infrastructure Planning. The Research Foresees The Application Of Geo-Spatial Technology In Planning The Urban Area In The Midst Of The Plans For Data-Informed, Inclusive, And Smart City Master Plans, Filling Gaps And Anticipating The Development Of The City In Advance. The Research Concludes That The Distribution Of Infrastructure In Bishoftu Compromises The Uniformity In The Availability Of The Same, Posing Threats Towards Inclusive Urban Development. Inferences Drawn From The Study, The Paper Suggests Special Infrastructure Development In The Under-Developed Areas, Application Of Geo-Spatial Analysis In Urban Planning, And The Implementation Of Smart City Concepts Towards Punctual Delivery Of The Same.