The Global Urban Footprint® (GUF®) dataset is based on the radar (SAR) satellite imagery of the German satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X. By creating the GUF database, scientists at the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have succeeded in using a newly developed method to generate a global raster map of the world’s built-up pattern in a so far unprecedented spatial resolution of about 12m per raster cell.

Using a fully automated processing system, a global coverage of more than 180,000 very high resolution SAR images (3m ground resolution) has been analyzed acquired between 2010 and 2013. Thereby, the backscatter amplitudes of the SAR data have been used in combination with derived textural information to delineate human settlements in a highly automated, complex decision-making process. The evaluation procedure based mainly on radar signals detects the characteristic vertical structures of human habitations – primarily built-up areas. In addition, auxiliary data such as digital elevation models have been included to improve the classification process. In total, over 20 million datasets were processed with a combined volume of about 320 terabytes. The final global maps show three coverage categories (e. g. in a B/W representation): Built-up areas (vertical structures only) in black, non-built-up surfaces in white, areas of no coverage by TSX/TDX satellites (NoData) as most parts of the oceans in grey.

The final product has been optimized for fast online access through web services by merging the 5 x 5 degree GUF tiles into a single global mosaic. Furthermore reduced resolution overviews have been generated with an interpolation algorithm, that computes the average value of all contribution pixels. The global mosaic uses PackBits compression to reduce file size.

GUF® and Global Urban Footprint® are protected as trademarks. A non-exclusive, spatially and temporally unlimited, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to use GUF is granted free of charge for a) scientific purposes on the high resolution version of GUF® (0.4 arcseconds), b) non-commercial purposes on the low resolution version of the GUF® (2.8 arcseconds). This license does not grant any commercial use of GUF® or products generated or derived by GUF®.