How Google Earth in India Can Fight Apathy Against Slums - TIME

Radical transparency

"Thanks to the satellite images available on Google Earth, a full picture of these forgotten slums has emerged. They now have borders; they are mapped; they have an identity. And using these images, Shelter Associates, a Pune-based NGO, has begun rehabilitating the slums. For the first time in their lives, 3,900 families in Sangli are going to be moving into apartments.
"Google Earth's maps are true to reality. They help us reshape and rehabilitate the slums in a way that makes sense within the overall city plan of Sangli," says Pratima Joshi, director of Shelter Associates. The families don't just need a leak-free roof or proper toilets; they need to be relocated to a place nearby so they don't lose their jobs — the salary of a domestic worker, a chauffeur or a security guard won't stretch to pay for two bus tickets a day. In Delhi, families who were relocated in comfortable houses in the suburbs returned to the city within a few weeks."

How Google Earth in India Can Fight Apathy Against Slums - TIME