We are not alone – other groups are producing great data on form an function of cities, which may suit your needs. Here is a selection.
Under construction.
Urban mask layers
| Dataset | Description/Properties | Reference |
| Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) | Global multitemporal built-up layer from Landsat image collections (GLS1975, GLS1990, GLS2000, and ad-hoc Landsat 8 collection 2013/2014), spatial resolution of 30 m | Pesaresi, M., Ehrlich, D., Ferri, S., Florczyk, A., Freire, S., Halkia, M., Julea, A., Kemper, T., Soille, P., Syrris, V. (2016). Operating procedure for the production of the Global Human Settlement Layer from Landsat data of the epochs 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2014. JRC Technical Reports |
| Global Urban Footprint (GUF) | Global buildup layer from 180 000 TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X scenes, spatial resolution of 0.4 arcsec (~12 m). | Esch, T., Heldens, W., Hirner, A., Keil, M., Marconcini, M., Roth, A., et al. (2017). Breaking new ground in mapping human settlements from space–The Global Urban Footprint. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 134, 30–42. |
| World Settlement footprint | Global map of human settlement, derived from 700,000 Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar and Landsat-8 multispectral satellite images, spatial resolution of 10 m | ESA (2019). Applications - Mapping our global human footprint. https://bit.ly/35pqWzD |
| ESA CCI Land Cover | Global land cover map, derived from the full Envisat MERIS archives (2003-2012) and SPOT Vegetation time series (1998-2012), spatial resolution 300 m | Bontemps, S., Boettcher, M., Brockmann, C., Kirches, G., Lamarche, D., et al. (2015). Multi-year Gloabl Land Cover mapping at 300 m and characterization for climate modelling: achievements of the land cover component of the ESA Climate Change Initiative. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XL-7/W3, 323-328. |
Building data