diff --git a/utils/mapnik-config/build.py b/utils/mapnik-config/build.py
index 141f354fd..f55d88896 100644
--- a/utils/mapnik-config/build.py
+++ b/utils/mapnik-config/build.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 from copy import copy
 from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
+from SCons.Environment import OverrideEnvironment
 
 Import('env')
 
@@ -46,51 +47,45 @@ if (GetMapnikLibVersion() != config_env['MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING']):
     print ('Error: version.hpp mismatch (%s) to cached value (%s): please reconfigure mapnik' % (GetMapnikLibVersion(),config_env['MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING']))
     Exit(1)
 
-config_variables = '''#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-## variables
-
-CONFIG_PREFIX="$( cd "$( dirname $( dirname "$0" ))" && pwd )"
-
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING='%(version_string)s'
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_VERSION='%(version)s'
-CONFIG_GIT_REVISION='%(git_revision)s'
-CONFIG_GIT_DESCRIBE='%(git_describe)s'
-CONFIG_FONTS="%(fonts)s"
-CONFIG_INPUT_PLUGINS="%(input_plugins)s"
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_DEFINES='%(defines)s'
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIBNAME='%(mapnik_libname)s'
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIBPATH="%(mapnik_libpath)s"
-CONFIG_DEP_LIBS='%(dep_libs)s'
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_LDFLAGS="%(ldflags)s"
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_INCLUDE="${CONFIG_PREFIX}/include -I${CONFIG_PREFIX}/include/mapnik/agg -I${CONFIG_PREFIX}/include/mapnik"
-CONFIG_DEP_INCLUDES="%(dep_includes)s"
-CONFIG_CXXFLAGS="%(cxxflags)s"
-CONFIG_CXX='%(cxx)s'
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_GDAL_DATA='%(found_gdal_data)s'
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_PROJ_LIB='%(found_proj_data)s'
-CONFIG_MAPNIK_ICU_DATA='%(found_icu_data)s'
-
-'''
-
-def write_config(configuration,template,config_file):
-    template = open(template,'r').read()
-    open(config_file,'w').write(config_variables  % configuration + template)
+def write_config(env, template_filename, config_filename):
+    """
+    Load shell script `template_filename`, replace values in variable
+    assignments of the form `CONFIG_key='default'` with corresponding
+    value `env['key']`, and save the result as `config_filename`.
+    """
+    with open(template_filename, 'r') as template_file:
+        template = template_file.read()
+    with open(config_filename, 'w') as config_file:
+        escape = env['ESCAPE']
+        def subst(matchobj):
+            key = matchobj.group(1)
+            val = env.get(key)
+            if val is None:
+                return matchobj.group(0)
+            else:
+                return 'CONFIG_%s=%s' % (key, escape(str(val)))
+        config = re.sub(r'^CONFIG_(\w+)=.*', subst, template, flags=re.M)
+        config_file.write(config)
     try:
-        os.chmod(config_file,0o755)
+        os.chmod(config_filename, 0o755)
     except: pass
 
 
-cxxflags_raw = config_env['LIBMAPNIK_CXXFLAGS'];
+template_env = OverrideEnvironment(config_env, {})
+
+# strip any -Warning flags
+cxxflags_cleaned = [x for x in config_env['LIBMAPNIK_CXXFLAGS']
+                      if x.startswith('-Wp,') or not x.startswith('-W')]
 # strip clang specific flags to avoid breaking gcc
 # while it is not recommended to mix compilers, this nevertheless
 # makes it easier to compile apps with gcc and mapnik-config against mapnik built with clang
-to_remove = ['-Wno-unsequenced','-Wno-unknown-warning-option','-Wtautological-compare','-Wheader-hygiene']
-cxxflags_cleaned = [item for item in config_env['LIBMAPNIK_CXXFLAGS'] if item not in to_remove];
+cxxflags_cleaned = [x for x in cxxflags_cleaned if x != '-Qunused-arguments']
+cxx_cleaned = config_env['CXX'].replace(' -Qunused-arguments', '')
 
-cxxflags = ' '.join(cxxflags_cleaned)
+template_env['CXXFLAGS'] = ' '.join(cxxflags_cleaned)
+template_env['CXX'] = re.sub(r'^ccache +', '', cxx_cleaned)
 
-defines = ' '.join(config_env['LIBMAPNIK_DEFINES'])
+template_env['DEFINES'] = ' '.join(config_env['LIBMAPNIK_DEFINES'])
 
 dep_includes = ''.join([' -I%s' % i for i in config_env['CPPPATH'] if not i.startswith('#')])
 
@@ -98,77 +93,42 @@ dep_includes += ' '
 
 if config_env['HAS_CAIRO']:
     dep_includes += ''.join([' -I%s' % i for i in env['CAIRO_CPPPATHS'] if not i.startswith('#')])
+template_env['DEP_INCLUDES'] = dep_includes
 
 ldflags = ''.join([' -L%s' % i for i in config_env['LIBPATH'] if not i.startswith('#')])
 ldflags += config_env['LIBMAPNIK_LINKFLAGS']
+template_env['LDFLAGS'] = ldflags
 
 dep_libs = ''.join([' -l%s' % i for i in env['LIBMAPNIK_LIBS']])
 
 # remove local agg from public linking
 dep_libs = dep_libs.replace('-lagg','')
-
-git_revision = 'N/A'
-git_describe = config_env['MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING']
+template_env['DEP_LIBS'] = dep_libs
 
 try:
-    git_cmd = "git rev-list --max-count=1 HEAD"
-    stdin, stderr = Popen(git_cmd, shell=True, stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE).communicate()
+    stdin, stderr = Popen("git rev-list --max-count=1 HEAD",
+                        shell=True, universal_newlines=True,
+                        stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE).communicate()
     if not stderr:
-        git_revision = stdin.strip()
+        template_env["GIT_REVISION"] = stdin.strip()
 
-    git_cmd = "git describe"
-    stdin, stderr = Popen(git_cmd, shell=True, stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE).communicate()
+    stdin, stderr = Popen("git describe",
+                        shell=True, universal_newlines=True,
+                        stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE).communicate()
     if not stderr:
-        git_describe = stdin.strip()
+        template_env["GIT_DESCRIBE"] = stdin.strip()
 except:
     pass
 
-# for fonts and input plugins we should try
-# to store the relative path, if feasible
-fontspath = config_env['MAPNIK_FONTS']
-lib_root = os.path.join(config_env['PREFIX'], config_env['LIBDIR_SCHEMA'])
-if lib_root in fontspath:
-    fontspath = "${CONFIG_PREFIX}/" + os.path.relpath(fontspath,config_env['PREFIX'])
-inputpluginspath = config_env['MAPNIK_INPUT_PLUGINS']
-if lib_root in inputpluginspath:
-    inputpluginspath = "${CONFIG_PREFIX}/" + os.path.relpath(inputpluginspath,config_env['PREFIX'])
-
-lib_path = "${CONFIG_PREFIX}/" + config_env['LIBDIR_SCHEMA']
-
-found_gdal_data = config_env['QUERIED_GDAL_DATA']
-found_proj_data = config_env['QUERIED_PROJ_LIB']
-found_icu_data = config_env['QUERIED_ICU_DATA']
-
-configuration = {
-    "git_revision": git_revision,
-    "git_describe": git_describe,
-    "version_string": config_env['MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING'],
-    "version": config_env['MAPNIK_VERSION'],
-    "mapnik_libname": env['MAPNIK_NAME'],
-    "mapnik_libpath": lib_path,
-    "ldflags": ldflags,
-    "dep_libs": dep_libs,
-    "dep_includes": dep_includes,
-    "fonts": fontspath,
-    "input_plugins": inputpluginspath,
-    "defines":defines,
-    "cxxflags":cxxflags,
-    "cxx":env['CXX'],
-    "found_gdal_data":found_gdal_data,
-    "found_proj_data":found_proj_data,
-    "found_icu_data":found_icu_data,
-}
-
 ## if we are statically linking dependencies
 ## then they do not need to be reported in ldflags
 #if env['RUNTIME_LINK'] == 'static':
-#    configuration['ldflags'] = ''
-#    configuration['dep_libs'] = ''
+#    template_env['LDFLAGS'] = ''
+#    template_env['DEP_LIBS'] = ''
 
 template = 'mapnik-config.template.sh'
 config_file = 'mapnik-config'
-source = config_file
-write_config(configuration,template,config_file)
+write_config(template_env, template, config_file)
 target_path = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(config_env['INSTALL_PREFIX'],'bin'))
 full_target = os.path.join(target_path,config_file)
 
diff --git a/utils/mapnik-config/mapnik-config.template.sh b/utils/mapnik-config/mapnik-config.template.sh
index a1ef44b60..c201abe0f 100755
--- a/utils/mapnik-config/mapnik-config.template.sh
+++ b/utils/mapnik-config/mapnik-config.template.sh
@@ -1,3 +1,40 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -eu
+
+RUNTIME_PREFIX=$(cd -- "${BASH_SOURCE%"${BASH_SOURCE##*/}"}.." && pwd)
+
+## CONFIG variables substituted from build script
+
+CONFIG_MAPNIK_NAME="mapnik"
+CONFIG_MAPNIK_VERSION="unknown"
+CONFIG_MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING="unknown"
+CONFIG_GIT_REVISION="N/A"
+CONFIG_GIT_DESCRIBE="${CONFIG_MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING}"
+
+CONFIG_PREFIX="/usr/local"
+CONFIG_LIBDIR_SCHEMA="lib"
+CONFIG_LIB_DIR_NAME="mapnik"
+CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIB_BASE="${CONFIG_PREFIX}/${CONFIG_LIBDIR_SCHEMA}"
+CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIB_DIR="${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIB_BASE}/${CONFIG_LIB_DIR_NAME}"
+CONFIG_MAPNIK_INPUT_PLUGINS="${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIB_DIR}/input"
+CONFIG_MAPNIK_FONTS="${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIB_DIR}/fonts"
+
+CONFIG_CXX="c++"
+CONFIG_CXXFLAGS=
+CONFIG_DEFINES=
+CONFIG_LDFLAGS=
+CONFIG_DEP_INCLUDES=
+CONFIG_DEP_LIBS=
+CONFIG_QUERIED_GDAL_DATA=
+CONFIG_QUERIED_PROJ_LIB=
+CONFIG_QUERIED_ICU_DATA=
+
+## D.R.Y. variables
+
+DRY_INCLUDES="-I${RUNTIME_PREFIX}/include -I${RUNTIME_PREFIX}/include/mapnik/agg -I${RUNTIME_PREFIX}/include/mapnik"
+DRY_CFLAGS="${DRY_INCLUDES} ${CONFIG_DEP_INCLUDES} ${CONFIG_DEFINES} ${CONFIG_CXXFLAGS}"
+DRY_LIBS="-L${RUNTIME_PREFIX}/${CONFIG_LIBDIR_SCHEMA} -l${CONFIG_MAPNIK_NAME}"
 
 ## program below
 
@@ -35,31 +72,18 @@ EOF
     exit $1
 }
 
-echoerr() { echo "$@" 1>&2; }
-
 if test $# -eq 0; then
     usage 1
 fi
 
 while test $# -gt 0; do
     case "$1" in
-    esac
 
-    case "$1" in
-
-    --help)
+    -h| --help)
       usage 0
       ;;
 
-    -h)
-      usage 0
-      ;;
-
-    -v)
-      echo ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING}
-      ;;
-
-    --version)
+    -v| --version)
       echo ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_VERSION_STRING}
       ;;
 
@@ -76,77 +100,77 @@ while test $# -gt 0; do
       ;;
 
     --fonts)
-      echo ${CONFIG_FONTS}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_MAPNIK_FONTS/#"$CONFIG_PREFIX"/$RUNTIME_PREFIX}"
       ;;
 
     --input-plugins)
-      echo ${CONFIG_INPUT_PLUGINS}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_MAPNIK_INPUT_PLUGINS/#"$CONFIG_PREFIX"/$RUNTIME_PREFIX}"
       ;;
 
     --defines)
-      echo ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_DEFINES}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_DEFINES}"
       ;;
 
     --prefix)
-      echo ${CONFIG_PREFIX}
+      printf '%s\n' "${RUNTIME_PREFIX}"
       ;;
 
     --lib-name)
-      echo ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIBNAME}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_MAPNIK_NAME}"
       ;;
 
     --libs)
-      echo -L${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIBPATH} -l${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIBNAME}
+      printf '%s\n' "${DRY_LIBS}"
       ;;
 
     --dep-libs)
-      echo ${CONFIG_DEP_LIBS}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_DEP_LIBS}"
       ;;
 
     --ldflags)
-      echo ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LDFLAGS}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_LDFLAGS}"
       ;;
 
     --includes)
-      echo -I${CONFIG_MAPNIK_INCLUDE}
+      printf '%s\n' "${DRY_INCLUDES}"
       ;;
 
     --dep-includes)
-      echo ${CONFIG_DEP_INCLUDES}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_DEP_INCLUDES}"
       ;;
 
     --cxxflags)
-      echo ${CONFIG_CXXFLAGS}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_CXXFLAGS}"
       ;;
 
     --cflags)
-      echo -I${CONFIG_MAPNIK_INCLUDE} ${CONFIG_DEP_INCLUDES} ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_DEFINES} ${CONFIG_CXXFLAGS}
+      printf '%s\n' "${DRY_CFLAGS}"
       ;;
 
     --cxx)
-      echo ${CONFIG_CXX}
+      printf '%s\n' "${CONFIG_CXX}"
       ;;
 
     --all-flags)
-      echo -I${CONFIG_MAPNIK_INCLUDE} ${CONFIG_DEP_INCLUDES} ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_DEFINES} ${CONFIG_CXXFLAGS} -L${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIBPATH} -l${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LIBNAME} ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_LDFLAGS} ${CONFIG_DEP_LIBS}
+      printf '%s\n' "${DRY_CFLAGS} ${DRY_LIBS} ${CONFIG_LDFLAGS} ${CONFIG_DEP_LIBS}"
       ;;
 
     --gdal-data)
-      if [[ ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_GDAL_DATA:-unset} != "unset" ]]; then echo ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_GDAL_DATA}; fi;
+      printf "%s${CONFIG_QUERIED_GDAL_DATA:+\\n}" "${CONFIG_QUERIED_GDAL_DATA}"
       ;;
 
     --proj-lib)
-      if [[ ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_PROJ_LIB:-unset} != "unset" ]]; then echo ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_PROJ_LIB}; fi;
+      printf "%s${CONFIG_QUERIED_PROJ_LIB:+\\n}" "${CONFIG_QUERIED_PROJ_LIB}"
       ;;
 
     --icu-data)
-      if [[ ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_ICU_DATA:-unset} != "unset" ]]; then echo ${CONFIG_MAPNIK_ICU_DATA}; fi;
+      printf "%s${CONFIG_QUERIED_ICU_DATA:+\\n}" "${CONFIG_QUERIED_ICU_DATA}"
       ;;
 
     *)
-  # push to stderr any invalid options
-  echo "unknown option $1" 1>&2;
-  ;;
+      # push to stderr any invalid options
+      echo "unknown option $1" >&2
+      ;;
     esac
     shift
 done