This research investigates the particular forms and spatial footprint of international aid over the urban fabric in the city of Bamako. The emergence of a serious political-humanitarian crisis in 2012 has triggered the arrival of a large contingent of expatriates within a short period in the Malian capital. The physical presence of the institutions of aid affects urban areas at different scales, from the dwelling unit to the city as a whole. The final spatial form taken by aid is primarily lead by the security guidelines set by the security specialists within international organisations, United Nations or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). To understand the concrete footprint of the urban forms promoted by aid's defensive architecture, we analyse the spatiality of aid, both in designated areas and in the city as a whole, using satellite imagery and open source vector data. The use of remote sensing and metrics allows to compare the diverse characteristics of the urban sprawl in which international aid grounds itself. Spatial layouts are measured using remote sensing while metrics methods allow to assess different dimensions of residential segregation, in particular centralisation, clustering and land consumption.