A dataset containing 125,192,184 computer generated building footprints in all 50 US states is the source for a New York Times’s map of every building in America.
Published on 12th October, this map represents every building in the US by a black speck, reflecting the built legacy of the United States.
The dataset was publicly released by Microsoft early this year. The company’s computer engineers trained a neural network to analyze satellite imagery and then to trace the shapes of buildings across the country.
The map reveals patterns in the arrangements of buildings. Traditional road maps highlight streets and highways; here they show up as a linear absence. As a result, “… you can read history in the transition from curving, paved-over cow paths in old downtowns to suburban sprawl; you can detect signals of wealth and poverty, sometimes almost next door to each other.”.
