City kicks off GIS & Surveys Tech Day 2026
STATEMENT BY ALDERMAN JAMES VOS, THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH
The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, officially opened the GIS & Surveys Tech Day 2026, under the theme ‘Smart Data, Smarter Decisions: Building the Future Together’ on Friday, 20 March. Read more below:
The critical role geospatial data plays in supporting City operations underpins planning, infrastructure management, property oversight, safety operations, and land management. Accurate and accessible data allows us to make better evidence-based decisions as it strengthens governance, improves service delivery, and ultimately benefits every Capetonian.
The Tech Day, which began as a professional development initiative for the City’s GIS & Surveys team, has evolved into a city-wide platform fostering collaboration across departments, academia, and industry partners.
This event exposes staff to cutting-edge technologies such as BIM integration, drone monitoring, digital twins, and AI-driven feature extraction, while also promoting cross-departmental problem-solving.
The economic impact of the City’s geospatial work, which includes tools like the Property Assessment Model and our Property Disposal and Land Release Programme are not just technical innovations. They allow us to release land for private-sector development, from homes to commercial and social infrastructure. No government can do it alone, partnering with the private sector creates construction jobs and long-term economic activity in our communities. This is exactly how smart data translates into smarter decisions and stronger economic growth.
The City’s focus on data-driven governance also contributes directly to improving the ease of doing business in Cape Town, enabling clearer processes, faster approvals, and greater confidence for investors and developers.
When departments collaborate and share information, we make it easier for business and investment to thrive, which benefits everyone in the city.
The upcoming FIG Congress, which Cape Town will host, is an example of the City’s leadership in geospatial innovation and an opportunity to demonstrate how Cape Town is applying technology to strengthen governance, attract investment, and shape the future of cities globally.
The GIS & Surveys Tech Day reinforces Cape Town’s commitment to a connected, data-driven approach to city management. I want to thank the GIS & Surveys team and geomatics practitioners across the City for their vital work. Events like this remind us that collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation are not optional, they are essential to building the city we want.
