Satellite dataAn IKONOS satellite image from 10 November 2001 (panchromatic, 1m resolution) wasacquired for the study area; it covers the major part of Kirtipur municipality (Map 2).
(TheIKONOS satellite is the world’s first commercial, high-resolution imaging satellite. It waslaunched on September 24, 1999, and can collect 1m resolution panchromatic images and 4mresolution multispectral images simultaneously.) The IKONOS image was used as a referenceduring field verification and to update the road data in the KUDP database. The image wascompared with the orthophoto derived from 1992 aerial photographs to study the changesthat had occurred during the intervening decade, particularly in residential areas.
Data on social infrastructureA field survey was used to collect data on more than 1000 institutional service functions ofsix different types: educational institutions, public utilities, public institutions, health facilities,markets, and factories/industries. Information on the locations of these services was mappedusing GIS and attribute information entered accordingly. Information collected from theFAO-supported Vegetable Market Analysis Project (FAO 2000) was also integrated into thedatabase. The initial field survey and data collection was done in 1999-2000. Field visits wereagain carried out jointly with Kirtipur Municipality in 2003 to update and verify these data.Data on utilitiesAs far as possible, information on utility lines, i.e., telephone, electricity, and water supplynetworks, was obtained from the local offices of the respective utilities in Kirtipur during thefield survey in 2000.
Although the available information was not comprehensive and generallyin the form of sketch maps, the study attempted to integrate it into the database. Data onpublic utilities such as ponds, spouts, wells, water tanks and taps were collected in 2000 andupdated during the 2003 field survey.Socioeconomic dataWard-wise population data from the 2001 census was obtained from the Central Bureau ofStatistics (CBS). Since Kirtipur Municipality was created after the 1991 census, the data for1991 was estimated from the population figures for the VDCs that were included when themunicipality was formed. It was not possible to integrate much of the demographic dataavailable from the 1991 census as the ward boundaries today do not match the VDCboundaries used in that census.
