Cities & Infrastructure · Infrastructure Gap Map
Show where essential services are missing, unreliable, unsafe or unaffordable with evidence confidence clearly visible.
This page turns the subject into a public problem-solving framework: place, problem, causes, evidence, solutions, roadmap, results and contribution.
Problem
What is failing, for whom and where?
02 · Unmapped settlements appear to have no need.
03 · Data from different years and methods may be compared as if equivalent.
Root causes
Test causes before selecting projects.
Asset presence used as service proxy
Verify this mechanism against local institutions, assets, user experience and available evidence.
Administrative data lacks local resolution
Verify this mechanism against local institutions, assets, user experience and available evidence.
Informal areas are excluded
Verify this mechanism against local institutions, assets, user experience and available evidence.
Reliability and affordability are not mapped
Verify this mechanism against local institutions, assets, user experience and available evidence.
Source metadata is lost
Verify this mechanism against local institutions, assets, user experience and available evidence.
Map design implies certainty
Verify this mechanism against local institutions, assets, user experience and available evidence.
Evidence
Record what is known, how it is known and what remains uncertain.
| Evidence area | What to establish | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Settlement, household and vulnerable groups | Counts and boundaries change |
| Access | Distance, connection and practical usability | Proximity is not access |
| Reliability | Frequency, downtime and seasonality | Short monitoring windows mislead |
| Quality | Safety and standard compliance | Sampling coverage matters |
| Confidence | Source, date, method and verification | Missingness must remain visible |
Evidence rule: label verified evidence, partial evidence, illustrative analysis, community submission and insufficient evidence separately.
Solutions
Combine immediate action, controlled pilots and structural reform.
Define gap as access plus reliability and quality
Define owner, cost, dependency, safeguard, baseline and decision gate.
Map settlements before assets
Define owner, cost, dependency, safeguard, baseline and decision gate.
Pilot local verification in high-uncertainty areas
Define owner, cost, dependency, safeguard, baseline and decision gate.
Layer affordability and vulnerability
Define owner, cost, dependency, safeguard, baseline and decision gate.
Publish source and confidence for every layer
Define owner, cost, dependency, safeguard, baseline and decision gate.
Connect gaps to responsible programmes
Define owner, cost, dependency, safeguard, baseline and decision gate.
Roadmap
Move from diagnosis to accountable improvement.
Define place, people and outcome
Record the responsible actor, evidence requirement and next decision.
Build a verified baseline
Record the responsible actor, evidence requirement and next decision.
Diagnose causes and constraints
Record the responsible actor, evidence requirement and next decision.
Compare options and pilot
Record the responsible actor, evidence requirement and next decision.
Deliver with safeguards
Record the responsible actor, evidence requirement and next decision.
Measure, improve and scale
Record the responsible actor, evidence requirement and next decision.
Results
Track outcomes people can experience.
Population with verified gap
Publish baseline, target, actual, date, geography, source and distribution.
Critical gaps prioritised
Publish baseline, target, actual, date, geography, source and distribution.
Unmapped areas reduced
Publish baseline, target, actual, date, geography, source and distribution.
Data freshness
Publish baseline, target, actual, date, geography, source and distribution.
Local verification
Publish baseline, target, actual, date, geography, source and distribution.
Gap closure sustained
Publish baseline, target, actual, date, geography, source and distribution.
Risks & safeguards
Address foreseeable harm before scaling.
Map invisibility
People absent from data disappear from decisions
Safeguard: Maintain an unmapped-settlement workflowFalse precision
Sharp boundaries imply exact knowledge
Safeguard: Show uncertainty and scale limitsStigma
Areas are labelled as failures
Safeguard: Use service language, not community blameStatic map
Rapid change makes layers obsolete
Safeguard: Define refresh ownershipFAQ
Questions that should be answered before action.
No. It means evidence is insufficient and requires investigation.
A common place system can connect layers, but each service needs its own definition.
A defined population, service standard, severity, evidence status and responsible actor.
Improve this Infrastructure Gap Map analysis with local evidence.
Submit a place, source, correction, working practice, implementation lesson or measured result.