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Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights- Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe – Community Demolitions
Case Study Summary

Appendix A: Zimbabwe Imagery Characteristics

AAAS obtained images of locations in Zimbabwe taken by the QuickBird satellite operated by Digital Globe. Specifically, AAAS acquired images from the Digital Globe archives via the MapMart company. The QuickBird satellite carries a multispectral sensor measuring reflected electromagnetic radiation in the red, green, blue, and near-infrared wavelengths. Its spatial resolution is about 0.65 meters for the panchromatic product, making it suitable for assessing individual structures as small as a few meters on a side. It has a nominal overpass frequency of three days, though in practice about one image every two weeks seems to be the most that can be expected. As with any spectral sensor it cannot penetrate clouds, somewhat degrading its availability. The QuickBird images were obtained in GeoTIFF format and imported into ERDAS Imagine for viewing. Imagery characteristics are provided below.
Figure 1: Zimbabwe Case Study Locations

Figure 2: Porta Farm Before and After Operation Murambatsvina

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.
Detail of Porta Farm, Zimbabwe, a settlement of more than 850 buildings and as many as 10,000 people when the satellite photo (left) was taken on 22 June 1002. The second image (right), taken 6 April 2006, shows the settlement has been leveled. The significant difference in color between the images is due to seasonality.

Porta Farm QuickBird Image Characteristics Before: 22 June 2002
Catalogue ID: 02JUN22081153-S2AS-005547322010_01_P001
Time of Acquisition: 11:43 GMT
Area: 25 square kilometers
Coordinates:
nwLat = -17.84
nwLong = 30.75
seLat = -17.88
seLong = 30.80
Cost: $325

Porta Farm QuickBird Image Characteristics After: 6 April 2006
Catalogue ID: 06APR06083637-S2AS_R1C1-005554460010_01_P002
Time of Acquisition: 08:37 GMT
Area: 64 square kilometers
Coordinates:
nwLat = -17.78
nwLong = 30.69
seLat = -17.87
seLong = 30.78
Cost: $1792

Figure 3: Porta Farm Structure Count

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.
The Porta Farm settlement on 6 April 2006 with center points of 870 destroyed structures in red.

Figure 4: Hatcliffe Before and After Operation Murambatsvina

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.
A subset of the high-resolution satellite imagery of the Hatcliffe settlement in Zimbabwe. The left hand image is from 14 May 2004 and the right hand image is from 2 September 2005.

Hatcliffe QuickBird Image Characteristics Before: 14 May 2004
Catalogue ID: 20300100089E8C00
Time of Acquisition: 7:22 GMT
Area: 34.5 square kilometers
File size: 400 MB
Coordinates:
nwLat = -17.66
nwLong = 31.09
seLat = -17.73
seLong = 31.13
Cost: $433

Hatcliffe QuickBird Image Characteristics After: 2 September 2005
Catalogue ID: 20300100089E8E00
Time of Acquisition: 08:26 GMT
Area: 34.5 square kilometers
File size: 400 MB
Coordinates:
nwLat = -17.66
nwLong = 31.09
seLat = -17.73
seLong = 31.13
Cost: $433

Figure 5: Hatcliffe, 14 May 2004.

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 6: Hatcliffe, 2 September 2005.

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 7: North Hatcliffe Structure Count

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.
Image of North Hatcliffe settlement on 2 September 2005 with center points of 875 destroyed structures.

Figure 8: Chitungwiza Before and After Operation Murambatsvina.

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.
A subset of the high-resolution satellite imagery of the Chitungwiza settlement in Zimbabwe. Backyard homes are visible in the left-hand image from 25 August 2004 and are the smaller structures found on the periphery and in the alleys of larger structures, which are absent from the right-hand image taken 22 June 2005. The possible marketplace seen in the before image is absent from the after image.

Chitungwiza QuickBird Image Characteristics Before: 25 August 2004
Catalogue ID: 04AUG25081026-S2AS-005547322030_01_P001
Time of Acquisition: 18:10 GMT
Area: 25 square kilometers
File size: 279 MB
Coordinates:
nwLat = -17.98403931
nwLong = 31.00020027
seLat = -18.02872276
seLong = 31.04973984
Cost: $350

Chitungwiza QuickBird Image Characteristics After: 22 June 2005
Catalogue ID: 05JUN22082315-S2AS-05547322040_01_P001
Time of Acquisition: 08:23 GMT
Area: 25 square kilometers
File size: 226 MB
Coordinates:
nwLat = -17.98403931
nwLong = 31.00979542
seLat = -18.02872276
seLong = 31.04973984
Cost: $350

Figure 9: Chitungwiza, 25 August 2004.

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 10: Chitungwiza, 22 June 2005.

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 11: Chitungwiza Structure Count

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.
Chitungwiza on 22 June 2005 with center points of the 2470 removed structures.

Figure 12: Killarney Before and After Operation Murambatsvina

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.
A subset of the high resolution satellite imagery of Killarney settlement. The left hand image was taken 22 August 2004, the right hand image taken 7 September 2005. 486 structures were removed.

Killarney QuickBird Image Characteristics Before: 22 August 2004
Catalogue ID: 10100100047E2701
Time of Acquisition: 07:22 GMT
Area: 25 square kilometers
File size: 294 MB
Coordinates:
nwLat = -17.67561677
nwLong = 31.08600944
seLat = -17.73238512
seLong = 31.12599435
Cost: $325

Killarney QuickBird Image Characteristics After: 7 September 2005
Catalogue ID: 1010010002EF0202
Time of Acquisition: 08:26 GMT
Area: 23 square kilometers
File size: 294 MB
Coordinates:
nwLat = -17.67561677
nwLong = 31.08600944
seLat = -17.73238512
seLong = 31.12599435
Cost: $325

Figure 13: Killarney Structure Count

Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved.
After image of Killarney on 7 September 2005 with center points of 486 removed structures.

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