Mapping spatial locational trends of informal economic enterprises using mobile geographic information data in the city of in Harare, Zimbabwe

Spatial planning for informal economic enterprises globally and cities of the developing world such Harare in particular is made difficult by the lack of appropriate data. In most cases, informal economic enterprises are discussed descriptively and statistically, leaving out their spatial characteristics. This makes the orderly planning for the enterprises very difficult if not impossible, especially given that the informal economy dominates the economies of most developing countries. This article presents geographic information data that was collected by means of mobile geographic positioning systems over time. In the absence of any other spatial datasets in the City of Harare, this unique data is handy in revealing spatial locational trends of informal economic enterprises and the preferred locational behaviour of informal economic entrepreneurs in the city.