BEAM (Building & Establishment Automated Mapper)

Building & Establishment Automated Mapper (BEAM)

BEAM is an AI tool developed to automatically map rooftops of buildings in informal settlements for a variety of benefits.

In South Africa, eThekwini Municipality and the City of Cape Town are using the tool to count the number of informal dwellings in informal settlements and backyards to improve service delivery and infrastructure capacity. UN-Habitat Mexico has used BEAM to gain an understanding of the morphological characteristics of informal settlements in Central American cities, such as Guatemala City.

A second pilot project with eThekwini Municipality is underway, with the objective of utilising BEAM to distinguish formal from informal structures. Additionally, the tool is part of an ongoing collaboration aimed at supporting the UN-Habitat Data and Analytics Unit in efforts to monitor SDG 11.1, with partners including ETH Zurich and the University of Twente.

 

View the BEAM user manual

BEAM Central America

Buildings mapped using BEAM in Guatemala and Santo Domingo

BEAM interface

BEAM interface

Desktop view of BEAM tool processing aerial images

"BEAM is one of the tools which will enable us to better understand the trends in urban development in the city. It will also create better efficiencies and create a platform for sharing of data so that we can improve our delivery of basic services… to those excluded from the formal areas of the city."  Sarah Watson, Human Settlements Unit, eThekwini Municipality

Want to use the tool in your region?

Contact unitac@un.org for more information about how to use the tool in your region.

Partners

UNITAC partners
  • The Human Settlements Department, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa
  • The City of Cape Town Geomatics Branch, South Africa
  • UN-Habitat Mexico

Impact

Tools impact

BEAM quickly generates shapefiles of rooftops to help municipalities to

  • maintain up-to-date records and maps
  • better prioritise upgrading interventions
  • improve basic service delivery

Scalability

Tools scalability

BEAM is already proven to be scalable across the world, with applications in South Africa and Central America.

Access to training data (imagery of the area of interest) is required.