I read this article awhile ago and thought it was pretty cool but never followed up. Not sure if you can access the article without an account, sorry. But basically, Microsoft created a database of about 125 million structures in every US state using artificial intelligence to scan aerial imagery.
www.nytimes.com
Finally looked into it, and it turns out that Microsoft has released their files as open data, which is very cool.
Downloaded over a million buildings in the Pines yesterday and am planning to include them in the new 2020 map. Needs a bit of study to pick the best style that will be readable without too much clutter on the map. My 2017 map had about 13,000 buildings that I hand-traced from aerials and another 46,000 from openstreetmap, but a million is a huge increase and a bit of a data management challenge.
But I like the way it highlights the contrast between development and the forest. Here's an example (click and use the magnifier to view full-scale)
Gets a little cluttered in densely populated places...
A Map of Every Building in America
Explore your community with this one-of-a-kind interactive map.
www.nytimes.com
Finally looked into it, and it turns out that Microsoft has released their files as open data, which is very cool.
Downloaded over a million buildings in the Pines yesterday and am planning to include them in the new 2020 map. Needs a bit of study to pick the best style that will be readable without too much clutter on the map. My 2017 map had about 13,000 buildings that I hand-traced from aerials and another 46,000 from openstreetmap, but a million is a huge increase and a bit of a data management challenge.But I like the way it highlights the contrast between development and the forest. Here's an example (click and use the magnifier to view full-scale)
Gets a little cluttered in densely populated places...
