Mapping Kenyan Election Violence via Satellite
By Chris Albon, January 4th, 2008,
Using commercially and publicly available satellite images, UNOSAT, a UN program working with satellite images and GIS (geographic information systems) tracked fires causes by post election violence in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province. The resulting map offers an aerial snapshot of Kenya’s political violence and one of the most poignant maps I have seen in a while (click on the image to view the whole map, PDF).
This map depicts the chronology of detected active fire locations within the Rift Valley Province in western Kenya following the national elections on 27 Dec.2007. These fire locations were detected by the MODIS satellites covering the time period from 27 Dec. to 3 Jan.2008, and organized into 4 maps each covering a 2 day period. An evaluation has been made of the chronology and spatial context of this data, and it is probable that a majority of detected fires (peaking on 1 January 2008) are directly or indirectly linked to the electoral civil unrest.
Hat tip: Ryan Sheely
Chris is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses explores the relationship between armed conflict and public health. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Jen. Read more about him at his website.
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January 19th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
[...] dividing the total area affected by the mean building size. As with the first UNOSAT map previously discussed, I am impressed with the attempts to use satellites as a method for international actors to measure [...]
March 5th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
[...] am continuously impressed with UNOSAT’s ability to use satellite imagery in creative ways. On February 27th, UNOSAT [...]