MANILA, (PIA) — The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the Philippine Space Authority (PhilSA) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to leverage space science and technology applications (SSTA) for the advancement of the housing and urban development industry.
The MOA, signed on August 9, aims to reinforce the DHSUD’s efforts to digitalize land use and urban planning processes through PlanSmart, a sustainable human settlements platform developed by the DHSUD and the Department of Science and Technology.
According to the DHSUD’s Environmental, Land Use, and Urban Planning and Development Bureau (ELUPDB), the agreement will help develop an automated land use and zoning compliance monitoring tool called AutoCAM, which utilizes remote sensing and artificial intelligence to monitor local government units’ compliance with their approved comprehensive land use plans (CLUP) and zoning ordinances.
DHSUD Undersecretary Herry Yap expressed pride and gratitude for the partnership, stating that it represents “a significant leap forward in our effort to modernize land use management.”
The agreement will provide the DHSUD with PhilSA’s expertise, data, and resources to enhance its assessment processes and support informed decision-making.
For PhilSA, the deal marks an important step in the agency’s efforts to utilize space technology and data to advance land use planning, human settlements, and urban development.
“This partnership aims to bridge that gap by leveraging the rich resources of space technology and data to realize socioeconomic value and benefit,” said PhilSA Space Operations, Infrastructure and Industry Deputy Director General Denis Villorente.
The MOA also outlines the responsibilities of both agencies, with the DHSUD providing inputs in the development of methodologies, implementation, and monitoring of applications using space data, while the PhilSA contributes to the enhancement of space-enabled methodologies and platforms to support land use planning and housing and urban development activities.
The PhilSA is the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government that plans, develops, and promotes the national space program in line with the Philippine Space Policy. (JCO/PIA-NCR)
