Contribution to the optimization of urban planning using GIS to address the affordable housing shortage in the city of Yaounde

The rapid urbanization of Yaounde intensifies rural exodus, resulting in an increasing housing deficit. This situation poses major challenges in urban planning, requiring innovative solutions to meet the growing needs of the population. In this context, the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) could be a promising approach to optimize land management by integrating spatial data. The purpose of this study was to develop a multicriteria analysis based on a suitability model to identify all areas suitable for affordable housing projects. To achieve this, the methodology adopted involves three main steps: identifying criteria, transforming these criteria into a common suitability scale, and creating the suitability model by weighting the transformed criteria. As a result, a synthesis map was created using seven criteria: residential areas, slopes, altitudes, humidity index, market prices, and accessibility to major roads and the power grid. These criteria could be more precise if the Yaounde City Council made updated urban infrastructures data publicly available. Additionally, for better social inclusion, it would be wise for the State and its relevant institutions to consider the actual income of the average Cameroonian citizen to make housing offers more accessible.