dataset · Global
GHSL global built-up surface estimates (GHS-BUILT-S)
GHS-BUILT-S depicts the global distribution of built-up surface from 1975 to 2030, measured in square metres per grid cell. The dataset reports both the total built-up surface and the surface of predominantly non-residential (NRES) structures.
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: GHSL data are provided under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Evidence quality: 33.3
Listed in aws-odr public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- total built-up surface (m² per grid cell) · non-residential (NRES) built-up surface
- Coverage docs-verified
- Global · 1975 to 2030 in 5-year steps (100 m and 1000 m data); 10 m data for 2018 only
- Resolution docs-verified
- 10 m, 100 m and 1000 m in World Mollweide (EPSG:54009); 3 and 30 arcseconds in WGS 1984 (EPSG:4326)
- Formats llm-inferred
- GeoTIFF · COG
- Access docs-verified
- Free open data under CC BY 4.0; S3 bucket readable without an AWS account (no-sign-request CLI access)
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Long-term built-up change context (1975 to 2030) for flood risk assessment catchment narratives · Impervious and built-up surface context for drainage strategy baselines at 100 m or 1000 m · Screening non-residential built-up exposure around sites for civils or environmental impact context · Urban extent baseline for planning-stage GIS analysis at 10 m for 2018
- Audience llm-inferred
- flood risk consultants · drainage engineers · hydrologists · planners · GIS analysts
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- 10 m data available for 2018 only, not the full 1975 to 2030 span · Native projection is World Mollweide (EPSG:54009); reprojection needed for many UK workflows · No stated update frequency, so currency of 2030 estimates is unclear · Global gridded estimates are not site-specific and need local validation for UK consultancy use
Evidence
- arn:aws:s3:::jrc-ghsl/ghs-built-s, arn:aws:s3:::jrc-ghsl/ghs-built-s-nres, arn:aws:sns:eu-central-1:291461994469:jrc-ghsl-object_created
- https://registry.opendata.aws/ghs-built-s/
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.