DHSUD, PhilSA ink deal for automated land use

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Space Authority (PhilSA) for the utilization of space science and technology applications aimed at digitalizing land use and urban planning processes.

“The agreement would help develop an automated land use and zoning compliance monitoring tool by utilizing remote sensing and artificial intelligence called AutoCAM,” the DHSUD’s Environmental, Land Use and Urban Planning and Development Bureau (ELUPDB) said in a statement yesterday.

AutoCAM utilizes remote sensing, geographic information systems and artificial intelligence to monitor the compliance of local government units with the approved comprehensive land use plans (CLUP) and zoning ordinances, the ELUPDB said.

The agreement was also in line with the DHSUD’s efforts to digitalize disaster risk monitoring and urban planning processes through the PlanSmart platform.

Developed by the DHSUD and the Department of Science and Technology, PlanSmart is a digital, integrated and automated platform that formulates climate and disaster risk-informed land use plans, open spaces and resilient urban design.

The platform is also envisioned to streamline the supervision of land use implementation.

Under the agreement, data on human settlements and urban development as well as land use and zoning shall be migrated and uploaded in PlanSmart.

The ELUPDB said the deal with PhilSA could improve the DHSUD’s capabilities in generating updated digital imageries for Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment and CLUPs.

“One of the cornerstones of the partnership is the provision of PhilSA’s expertise, data and resources to make sure that our assessment processes can be incorporated, so that they can provide accurate and timely data to support informed decision making,” DHSUD Undersecretary Henry Yap said.

Under the agreement, PhilSA is primarily tasked to contribute to the enhancement of space-enabled methodologies and platforms to support the development and implementation of DHSUD activities.

Among the methodologies and assistance that the PhilSA may extend to DHSUD include satellite-based mapping and monitoring of land cover, delineation of informal settler families and slum areas as well as identification and suitability assessment of lands for housing and urban development.

The DHSUD is expected to provide inputs in the development, implementation and monitoring of applications using space data, particularly on standards, processes and methodologies for land use and zoning.

“This partnership aims to bridge that gap by leveraging the rich resources of space technology and data to realize socioeconomic value and benefit,” PhilSA space operations, infrastructure and industry deputy director general Denis Villorente said.