Urban Recovery Planning System (URPS)
The Urban Recovery Planning System (URPS) is a web-based spatial decision support system (SDSS) designed to support urban planning, with a particular focus on crisis response, recovery, and reconstruction. URPS integrates and visualizes geospatial data to support spatial analysis, urban profiling, and evidence-based planning across multiple sectors, helping users identify priority areas for intervention and inform strategic resource allocation.
Depending on available data, configuration, and project-specific adaptations, URPS can support a range of planning functions, including reachability and accessibility analysis, facility simulation, service provision assessment, and infrastructure planning. The platform currently supports damage and repair assessments, as well as analysis of shelter and emergency facility provision in relation to population distribution. Users can explore reconstruction scenarios, identify service gaps, and assess potential impacts before implementation. URPS also supports participatory planning through location-based feedback and the prioritization of proposed projects. A national dashboard aggregates regional data to monitor recovery indicators and identify areas with critical support needs.
Requirements
1. General Partner Requirements
For applications involving collaboration between governmental and non-governmental entities, the following partnership arrangements are accepted:
- Consortium: A consortium of governmental and non-governmental entities, for example involving a civil society organisation, urban planning lab, or similar organisation.
- Cooperation agreement: A formal cooperation between a governmental and a non-governmental entity, documented through an enclosed Letter of Intent.
The local partner is expected to ensure:
- Stakeholder engagement and data access: Established connections with relevant stakeholders to facilitate access to the community data required for the project.
Tool adoption and use: Relevant staff and technical teams with the capacity and commitment to adopt and actively use the tool.
2. Resource Requirements
The local partner is expected to allocate or secure the following resources and capacities:
- Data management: Project personnel with the capacity to collect and/or manage relevant data.
- Local coordination: A local consultant for approximately 6–12 months to serve as the focal point for tool management and project coordination.
- Technical support: A local consultant for approximately 6–12 months with relevant IT and/or GIS expertise to support technical implementation.
- Local implementation capacity: A local team with the capacity to support the development and deployment of the tool.
Long-term maintenance: Sufficient capacity and commitment to operate and maintain the tool following implementation.
3. Technical Requirements
Based on our experience with previous implementations of URPS, we recommend the following technical requirements from the local partner for successful implementation.
- Cloud server meeting the following specifications:
- Operating system: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
- RAM: Minimum 16 GB; 24 GB recommended
- CPU: Minimum 8 vCPUs; 12 vCPUs recommended
- Storage: Minimum 240 GB SSD; 512 GB SSD recommended
- Domain: One public domain with 3 subdomains available for deployment.
- SSL certificates: Required SSL certificates for the domain and subdomains.
- IT support: A designated IT focal point to support the setup and ongoing technical operation of the system.
Who is it for?
For this Open Call, UNITAC invites local and regional governments to submit project ideas addressing their most pressing urban challenges through UNITAC digital solutions.
Non-governmental organisations, including civil society organisations and urban planning labs, are also eligible to apply, provided they work in direct partnership with a local or regional government that will be responsible for implementing the proposed tools.
