ASSESSMENT OF BASIC SERVICES IN URBAN SETTLEMENTS USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Abstract

This thesis aims to assist the spatial distribution, sufficiency and equality of the educational and ‎health services in the urban mass of Egyptian cities. Two cities were selected for the study. The ‎first application was applied on El Mansoura City in Dakahleya Governorate, located in the Nile ‎Delta and surrounded by arable lands with no desert extension. The target was to assess and ‎improve its situation in the urban mass without sprawling on the arable lands. The second ‎application was applied on the Tenth of Ramadan City, located in the desert extension in El-‎Sharkeya, one of the first generations of the new communities in Egypt. The target was to assess ‎and improve the current situation of the services and avoiding extension of infrastructure outside ‎the city urban mass boundary. The assessment was conducted using the spatial analysis tools in ‎ArcGIS 10.4.1 software and following the guidelines set by GOPP for deriving the standards, ‎thresholds and sphere of influence for the locations of each of the two services for each city. The ‎directory of distribution of land-use activities for the Egyptian cities was studied and followed. ‎ Applying the spatial analysis on the relevant GIS layers in the geographic database and following ‎the mentioned guidelines, the assessment revealed a shortage of both services in both cities. Such ‎shortage was depicted in spatial analysis and maps pointing out the situation in each city ‎administrative boundary/sheyakha. The cities' extensions were also assessed in order to ensure ‎the use of available vacant lands. Accordingly, field visits were conducted for such vacant lands ‎and finally new locations for the educational and health services was proposed for the two cities. ‎The new proposed locations follow the GOPP guidelines and abide the directory of distribution ‎of land-use activities in the Egyptian cities.‎