Overstrand Municipality has completed an important update to the aerial photography available on its Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The new orthophotography, which is geometrically corrected aerial photography, provides a more current and detailed view of the Overstrand and will support the Municipality’s planning, service delivery and infrastructure management, while also improving public access to spatial information.
The aerial photography was collected by the end of June 2026 and covers all areas within the urban edge. Farm areas were excluded from this update and will be included in a full aerial photography update, which is normally undertaken every 10 years, subject to available funding.
The previous aerial photography update for urban areas was completed in 2020, with an 8 cm resolution. The latest aerial photography was captured at a 5 cm resolution, providing significantly greater clarity and detail. This higher-resolution photography will assist municipal departments, professionals, residents and other users who rely on accurate spatial information for decision-making, analysis and day-to-day operations.
Updated aerial photography plays an important role in modern municipal governance. It enables better visibility of the built environment, supports more informed land use and infrastructure planning, and strengthens the Municipality’s ability to monitor changes over time. By improving the quality and currency of information available through the GIS platform, Overstrand Municipality continues to invest in digital tools that promote transparency, efficiency and responsible resource management.
“The updated aerial photography is an important step in keeping our spatial information relevant, accurate and useful,” said the Director of Corporate Services, Desireé Arrison. “Reliable GIS information supports better planning, faster decision-making and improved service delivery across the municipal area.”
Compare aerial photography from 2022 and 2026
After updating the aerial photography and embedding it in the Municipality’s public viewer, the GIS team also overhauled the interface and added tools to make navigation easier.
One of these features, available under the Tools menu, allows users to swipe between aerial photography from 2022 and 2026. As illustrated in the example below, the comparison demonstrates the excellent quality and improved detail of the latest aerial photography.
The updated aerial photography can now be viewed on the Overstrand Municipality GIS portal, where residents and other users can access current spatial information for the municipal area: https://overstrand.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html
If you need assistance navigating the GIS portal, please log a service request through the Collab Citizen App and select the dedicated GIS service request type.
Download the Collab Citizen App
To download the Collab Citizen App, open your phone’s app store – Google Play, the Apple App Store or Huawei AppGallery – and search for “Collab Citizen”.
For step-by-step instructions on downloading and registering for the Collab Citizen App, visit https://www.overstrand.gov.za/overstrand-collab-citizen-app/
