Using geospatial mapping for site selection

Many site searches start with a shortlist from an agent and a few site visits. That is a sensible start, but a visit shows one day in one season. It won't show a disputed boundary, a planned road reserve or the drainage line that floods in the long rains.

Geographic information systems (GIS) let developers and investors put title, planning, services, risk and demand data on one map. Each site can then be checked against the same layers and compared on the same terms. Here is how we build those layers for sites in Kenya.

Check title and planning first

Start with the land itself. An official search at the lands registry confirms the registered owner and shows charges, cautions and restrictions against the title. The Ministry of Lands has been moving registry records onto its Ardhisasa digital platform, and where a registry has migrated, searches can be made online. Others still run on paper, so check which applies.

A search doesn't confirm that the parcel on paper matches the land on the ground. Overlay the survey plan or registry index map on current imagery, and ask a licensed surveyor to confirm the beacons. Look for encroachment, informal occupation, access that crosses someone else's land and boundaries that don't line up with fences. Agricultural land may also need land control board consent before a transaction.

Then map the planning rules. County governments control development under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019, through their spatial plans and local physical and land use development plans. Zoning sets the permitted uses, density and building height. Where the plan doesn't support your use, a change of user may be possible, but it adds time and uncertainty. Development permission from the county comes before construction, and the map should show road reserves, riparian reserves and wayleaves that limit where you can build.

Map access to roads, power and water

Servicing a site can cost more and take longer than buying it. Map each shortlisted site against:

• Roads: the class of road, who maintains it, travel times to the markets and labour you need, and any planned upgrades or new reserves.
• Power: distance to existing Kenya Power lines and substations, and whether supply can carry your load.
• Water and sewerage: coverage by the county water service provider, reliability of supply and, where you plan a borehole, the permit needed from the Water Resources Authority.

Confirm the map with the utilities themselves. A line on a map is not a connection, and capacity often decides whether a site works.

Screen for flood and environmental risk

Flood risk is easier to see on a map than on a dry-season site visit. Use elevation data to trace drainage lines and low points, and check archive satellite imagery for standing water after past rains. Add rivers, wetlands and riparian reserves, slope and soil information, and neighbouring uses such as quarries, dumpsites or heavy industry. Ask neighbours and the county about past flooding. Local knowledge often fills gaps in the data.

Environmental approvals belong on the same layer. Under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, 1999, projects in the categories the law lists need an environmental impact assessment licence from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) before work starts. Sites near protected areas, forests, wetlands or wildlife corridors face closer scrutiny.

Read the catchment

For housing, retail, hospitality or services, the question is who lives and works within reach. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics publishes results from the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, with data at county and sub-county level. Map it against drive-time or walking catchments around each site to see the population, households and age profile each one can draw on.

Census data is a snapshot, and fast-growing areas change between counts. Bring it up to date with fieldwork: satellite evidence of new building, footfall or traffic counts, a map of competing developments and short surveys of residents or businesses. Together they show whether demand is there now and where it is heading.

Use satellite imagery and drone surveys

Satellite imagery gives the wide view. Archive images show how an area has changed, where building is spreading and whether a site has been cleared, settled or flooded before. Free sources show trends, and commercial imagery adds the detail to see individual structures.

Drone surveys give the close view. A survey produces high-resolution images and a terrain model of the site, useful for drainage design, earthworks and a record of existing structures and occupation. Drone flights in Kenya need approval from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority under its unmanned aircraft regulations, so use an operator who holds the required permits. Where images capture people or private property, handle them in line with the Data Protection Act, 2019. A drone survey supports a licensed surveyor's boundary survey and does not replace it.

Combine the layers into a scorecard

With the layers built, score each site the same way, in two stages. The first is a set of gates a site must pass to stay on the list: a clean search with no unresolved claims, zoning that permits the use or a realistic route to change of user, buildable land outside riparian reserves and mapped flood areas, and no environmental constraint that rules out the project.

The second is a set of weighted criteria for the sites that pass, such as:

• road access and travel times to markets and labour;
• power and water capacity, and the cost and time to connect;
• depth and growth of the catchment;
• competing supply nearby;
• ground conditions and earthworks;
• land cost and the approvals still needed.

Set the weights for the project. A logistics depot weights road access heavily, while a housing scheme weights schools, transport and catchment. Record the source and date of every layer so the scorecard can be checked and updated. Then visit the top sites again with the map in hand.

How we help

Epiidosis Africa's research, data and market intelligence practice builds the geospatial layers for your shortlist, runs catchment and competitor analysis, and prepares the site scorecard and a decision brief. We work alongside your lawyers and licensed surveyors, and coordinate drone surveys through permitted operators. Our insurance and risk practice reviews flood and site risks for the chosen site, and our finance practice can turn the evidence into a feasibility and financing pack for independent licensed banks and financiers.

Our research informs your decision and does not guarantee an outcome. Legal due diligence, the boundary survey and the approvals rest with your lawyers, your surveyor and the relevant authorities.