According to the World Bank, over 1 billion people live in slums or informal settlements, a number projected to double by 2050 if current urbanization trends continue.

Source : World Bank

IDEAtlas is a project in close collaboration with UN-Habitat and the IDEAMAPS Network. The project develops AI-powered Earth Observation (EO) methods to monitor informal settlements and support data-driven urban development.

The project focuses on creating robust, scalable, and automated methodologies to map slums and analyze their:

• Extent and physical characteristics (e.g. slum morphology),

• Temporal dynamics (expansion and densification),

• Living conditions (through a deprivation index),

• Urban-scale metrics such as slum severity and population estimates.

By leveraging both freely available Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and Very High Resolution (VHR) commercial data, IDEAtlas aims to deliver cost-effective, up-to-date monitoring solutions for cities worldwide.

The project is developed in eight pilot cities: Mexico City, Nairobi, Lagos, São Salvador da Bahia, Jakarta, Medellin, Mumbai, and Buenos Aires.