Global Building Atlas

A cross posting from my Google Earth / ArcGIS mapping blog

A project by the University of Munich has aimed at producing a map showing all the world's buildings.

There are estimated to be 2.75 billion buildings.

The researchers have created the first high-resolution 3D map of Earth’s 2.75 billion buildings, producing a dataset 30 times finer than previous global maps. Called the GlobalBuildingAtlas, it was funded by the ERC Starting Grant and built using 2019 satellite imagery.

Each structure is modelled at a three-by-three meter resolution, allowing estimates of height, volume, and density.

The researchers created the project to serve a socioeconomic and environmental purpose. For instance, such a comprehensive, bird’s-eye-view map offers detailed information about the “footprint” of urbanisation and poverty around the world,