Having an independent accessible address means so much more than just having a place of living. As per 2014 World Bank Data, 24% families in India live in slums who are often packed into overcrowded homes and cramped living conditions. They either don’t have an address or have one that does not identify their house or business location accurately. Therefore, for basic facilities and emergency services to reach their doorsteps, a navigable location address is a must in the present digital era and this is where Shelter Associates has partnered with Google and UNICEF to bring this unique and powerful solution known as Plus Codes to the have-nots of the city.
Steps to search location using Plus Code
Plus Codes use latitude and longitude to produce a short, easy-to-share alpha-numeric digital address that can represent any location on earth. Whether you want to open a bank account, secure confidential letters or simply order food online, all you have to do is enter your unique Plus Code on google maps and get navigated to your doorsteps. Number plates with the plus code can be fixed on the doors of individual huts for ready reference of the unique address. Plus Codes also directs individuals or service providers to the nearest amenities such as water standposts, electrical posts, community Toilets, manholes, etc.
Closer view of Plus Code on a slum map
Shelter Associates strategises its preliminary Plus Code project in the slum settlements of Pune, Thane, Kolhapur and Navi Mumbai.
Slum dwellers receive an independent identity through this addressing solution for easy accessibility of services such as water, sanitation, healthcare, electricity, opening bank accounts, postal services, etc further saving time and guiding service providers to reach individual doorsteps. Also, emergency services such as Fire, Ambulance and Police can find them during an emergency.
Plus Code demonstration to communities
The slum communities are also mobilised by Shelter Associates’ community workers through awareness workshops and personal meetings to understand the concept of plus codes and use it to their advantage. Large slum maps displaying household and infrastructure plus codes are also been installed in the slums for easy accessibility.
Slum residents of Laxmi Nagar reading the map
The plus code project is not limited to communities only but has also been playing an instrumental role for effective e-governance. Lack of granular data has always hampered governments from reaching out to the vulnerable families but through this initiative, the Urban Local Bodies will link this new data to their existing data through which they can access and update more precisely. They will be able to spatially pinpoint and analyze their database and use the same for effective and efficient service delivery which is also beneficial during Pandemics for facilitating the provision of emergency and essential services. Humanitarian groups, NGOs and Urban Local Bodies can easily find people needing basic aid along with tracking and monitoring programs related to health, education, etc.
Plus Code plate installed at the beneficiary’s home entrance
Refer to the Plus Code Film for more information on Plus codes and its impact