The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
Where Cities and Built Environment gets its data, on what terms, with what quality and with which known gaps.
GCRI · In development · service level R0
The Cities and Built Environment source register lists the datasets and records the platform draws on, such as Global Human Settlement Layer (European Commission JRC), each with its producer, licence and permitted uses, quality and known gaps. A source is listed only once its terms permit the use described, and data held by agreement is used under those terms and never republished.
Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.
For source and data register, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on true-colour imagery, night lights and land cover with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on India; 3 further NASA layers wait in the list.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
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NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
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For source and data register, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on true-colour imagery, night lights and land cover with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on India; 3 further NASA layers wait in the list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.
Layers and dates
Who produces the data and how.
Licence, restrictions and permitted uses.
Coverage, resolution, update frequency and known errors.
How the data reached the platform and what was changed.
What is missing and how the gap is handled.
| Source | What it gives | Terms | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas of Urban Expansion (NYU Marron Institute) | Expansion, density and layout for a global sample of cities | Licence to check | Urban growth and land |
| Copernicus Urban Atlas and street tree layer | Urban land use and trees for European cities | Free, Copernicus terms | Buildings and heat |
| Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys | Household services and dwelling characteristics | Free with registration, survey terms | Informal settlements |
| Demographic and Health Surveys housing modules | Dwelling materials, crowding and services | Free with registration, DHS terms | Housing and affordability |
| ECOSTRESS (NASA) | Land surface temperature at different times of day | Open, NASA data policy | Buildings and heat |
| ESA WorldCover | Global land cover at ten-metre resolution | Open, CC BY 4.0 | Urban growth and land |
| ESA WorldCover and Copernicus land monitoring products | Land cover and imperviousness | Open, CC BY 4.0 and Copernicus terms | Green blue infrastructure |
| Eurostat housing statistics (EU-SILC) | Overburden, overcrowding and housing deprivation in Europe | Open, Eurostat reuse policy | Housing and affordability |
| Global Covenant of Mayors reporting | City climate risk assessments and action plans | Public, terms per platform (to check) | Municipal governance interface |
| Global Human Settlement Layer (European Commission JRC) | Built-up area, population and settlement classes over several epochs | Open, CC BY 4.0 | Urban growth and land |
| Global Land Tool Network and SDG 1.4.2 tenure data | Tenure security measurement | Public, terms per source | Housing and affordability |
| Google Open Buildings and Microsoft building footprints | Building outlines derived from imagery | Open, CC BY 4.0 and ODbL respectively | Informal settlements |
| GTFS public transport feeds | Schedules, routes and stops published by agencies | Open, licence per agency | Transport and mobility |
| Household travel surveys | Trips by purpose, mode and time | Licence per survey | Transport and mobility |
| IBNET utility benchmarking | Utility coverage, continuity and finance | Public, World Bank terms (to check) | Urban utilities |
| IEA cooling and buildings data | Cooling demand and appliance ownership | Licence per dataset (to check) | Buildings and heat |
| IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions | Criteria for designing and assessing nature-based solutions | Public, IUCN terms | Green blue infrastructure |
| Landsat Collection 2 surface temperature (USGS) | Land surface temperature at thirty-metre resolution | Public domain, US government data | Buildings and heat |
| Municipal budget and planning documents | Revenues, spending and plans | Public records, licence per city | Municipal governance interface |
| Municipal tree inventories | Location, species and condition of street trees | Open data where published, licence per city | Green blue infrastructure |
| OECD Affordable Housing Database | Housing costs, conditions and policies across OECD countries | Public, OECD terms | Housing and affordability |
| OECD and UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment | Subnational government finance across countries | Public, terms to check | Municipal governance interface |
| OpenStreetMap | Street, path and transit networks | Open, ODbL | Transport and mobility |
| OpenStreetMap community mapping | Streets, buildings and services mapped with residents | Open, ODbL | Informal settlements |
| Sendai Framework Monitor target E | Local disaster risk reduction strategies | Public, UN terms of use | Municipal governance interface |
| Slum Dwellers International Know Your City profiles | Community-collected settlement profiles | Public summaries, terms to check | Informal settlements |
| Tracking SDG 7 energy progress report | Access to electricity and clean cooking | Open, CC BY 3.0 IGO | Urban utilities |
| UN DESA World Urbanization Prospects | Urban and city population estimates and projections | Open, CC BY 3.0 IGO | Urban growth and land |
| UN-Habitat housing and SDG 11.1 data | Population in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing | Public, UN-Habitat terms (to check) | Housing and affordability |
| UN-Habitat SDG 11.1.1 data | Share of urban population in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing | Public, UN-Habitat terms (to check) | Informal settlements |
| UN-Habitat SDG 11.2.1 data | Access to public transport in cities | Public, UN-Habitat terms (to check) | Transport and mobility |
| UN-Habitat SDG 11.7.1 data | Public open space in cities | Public, UN-Habitat terms (to check) | Green blue infrastructure |
| UN-Habitat Urban Indicators Database | SDG 11 indicator data for cities and countries | Public, UN-Habitat terms (to check) | Urban growth and land |
| UN-Habitat Waste Wise Cities data and SDG 11.6.1 | Municipal solid waste generation and management | Public, UN-Habitat terms (to check) | Urban utilities |
| UNDRR Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities | City self-assessment of resilience across ten essentials | Public, UN terms of use | Municipal governance interface |
| Urban hydrology monitoring studies | Measured performance of rain gardens, swales and green roofs | Licence per publication | Green blue infrastructure |
| Utility and municipal annual reports | Service, investment and performance data | Public records, licence per publisher | Urban utilities |
| WHO and WMO heat-health guidance | Heat-health action planning and warning systems | Public, WHO and WMO terms of use | Buildings and heat |
| WHO Global status report on road safety | Road traffic deaths and safety legislation by country | Public, WHO terms of use | Transport and mobility |
| WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme | Urban and rural water, sanitation and hygiene coverage | Open, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO | Urban utilities |
Sources are added to the register as they are reviewed. A source is listed only once its terms permit the use described.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Provenance | Information about the entities, activities and people involved in producing a record, used to judge its quality and reliability, in the W3C PROV model. |
| FAIR principles | Guiding principles that make data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable by people and machines. |
| Open licence | A licence that allows anyone to access, reuse and redistribute data, sometimes with attribution. |
| Data lineage | The traceable path of data from its origin through each transformation to its current form. |
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.