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Urban & Building Data

DLR Global Urban Footprint (GUF)

DLR GUF provides a global 12m resolution built-up area mask from TanDEM-X radar, offering the finest free global urban classification.

Format GeoTIFF
Coverage Global
Resolution ~12m
License Free for research and education
Update Static (2011-2012 baseline)
Download source Open official source

Format

GeoTIFF

Geometry

Raster (urban mask)

Coverage

Global

Resolution

~12m

About this dataset

German Aerospace Center's global settlement mask at ~12m resolution derived from TanDEM-X radar data.

The Global Urban Footprint (GUF) from DLR provides a global binary settlement/non-settlement mask at ~12m resolution derived from TanDEM-X radar satellite data. It distinguishes built-up areas from non-built-up surfaces using radar backscatter characteristics, offering one of the finest freely available global urban extent datasets.

Urban extent mapping Settlement delineation Urban growth monitoring Exposure assessment

How to download

  1. 1 Register on the DLR Geoservice portal.
  2. 2 Select the Global Urban Footprint product.
  3. 3 Choose the region and download 12m GeoTIFF tiles.
  4. 4 Open in GIS for urban extent analysis.

DLR Geoservice

Register and download GUF tiles

→

ESA GUF page

Documentation and metadata

→

FAQ

How does GUF compare to WSF?

GUF uses TanDEM-X radar data at ~12m resolution, while WSF uses Sentinel-1/2 at 10m. Both provide binary built-up masks, but GUF is based on radar (works in cloudy conditions) while WSF combines optical and radar.

Is GUF data still current?

The primary GUF dataset is based on TanDEM-X acquisitions from 2011-2012. An updated GUF-DLR product with more recent data is being developed.