GlobalBuildingAtlas: 3D Models of 2.8 Billion Buildings in the World on GitHub
A research team from Munich has created an immense dataset of all structures in the world. It is intended to help with urban planning and other things.
Distribution of built-up volume across partial areas with a side length of 480 [x] 480 m
(Image: TU MĂĽnchen)
A research team from the Technical University (TU) Munich has created a high-resolution three-dimensional map of all buildings in the world and published it as an open dataset on platforms including GitHub. The GlobalBuildingAtlas contains 2.75 billion building models for all structures for which satellite imagery from 2019 is available, as the university explains. According to the university, 97 percent of these also have so-called LoD1 3D models (Level of Detail 1), which are simplified 3D representations that can be integrated into computer models in large numbers. The dataset is of enormous value for further research, for example, because it allows the building volume per capita to be determined. This could make social and economic differences visible.
Europe particularly densely built-up
The dataset was created by a research team led by data scientist Xiao Xiang Zhu. According to TU Munich, this is not the first such project, but by far the most complete. The largest database to date comprises only 1.7 billion buildings, and previously, building data from parts of Africa, South America, and many rural areas were missing. Furthermore, the GlobalBuildingAtlas, with a resolution of 3m Ă— 3m, is about 30 times more accurate than comparable products. With the data, cities worldwide could now, for example, "take measures to create inclusive and equitable living conditions," the university writes.
(Image:Â Xiao Xiang Zhu et al.)
According to the dataset, 1.22 of the 2.75 billion buildings are located in Asia; North and South America together account for 560 million; Africa has 20 million fewer. In the significantly smaller Europe, the GlobalBuildingAtlas counts slightly more than 400 million buildings. The built-up area is also largest in Asia (218 billion m²), but the gap to Europe (138 billion m²) is significantly smaller here, and America (107 billion m²) together with Africa (39 billion m²) only accounts for more. Europe also ranks second among the continents in terms of built-up volume. A world map further shows that the built-up volume is mainly concentrated in eastern China and central Europe.
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The dataset, available on GitHub and a platform of TU Munich, has already attracted great interest, the university writes. Its use is being examined, for example, by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Urban planners, in turn, could use it to plan additional housing or public facilities such as schools or health centers in previously disadvantaged urban districts, says the team. The dataset is also of great value for planning green infrastructure and disaster preparedness. The finished project and the path to the GlobalBuildingAtlas are presented in an article in the journal Earth System Science Data.
(mho)
