SA Township Opportunity Atlas

Issues surrounding the collection of data on South Africa’s townships have long ranged over time. From the inability of a single source to provide it, the approach to view it in an analytical manner or actually see the data within a clear township boundary. As a result, South Africa has produced a range of initiatives that always risked the potential of falling short in adequate delivery due to a lack of understanding accurate township characteristics by planners and marketers.

Large amounts of the data have always existed and yet these missed opportunities were only ever affecting one group, those living in the townships. By accurately mapping South Africa’s township and local economies, we can finally provide accurate and meaningful opportunity to those living within an area that is in such dire need of just that, opportunity.

• Provided in a geospatial format, the data will contain all township boundaries (historical and new) alongside a number of lifestyle indicators.
• This will include a combination of point data such as informal retail outlets, shopping centres and government facilities
• EA level data covering demographics, income, employment statistics and LSM segmentation
• Larger level polygon data providing insights into aspects such as land use and crime

AfricaScope has gone about collecting the township data through the implementation of door-to-door surveys as well as small area estimation techniques. The data is then updated on an annual basis, ensuring the most relevant and accurate responses can be calculated with surety. As a business within South Africa, it is of paramount importance to show adequate levels of awareness to the possible positive and negative effects that your business processes might have on the local informal community.

• The Township Atlas dataset can be used by government institutions to gain a clearer understanding of service provisions
• Businesses are able to gain insight into possible community projects and partnerships within informal sectors
• Developers integrate township data in order to further validate the potential success or failure of a new retail site.

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