urban

Schematic maps showing the spatial entities around Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso identified by the four population datasets

DEGURBA: Why Your Urban Definition Depends on Your Data

What counts as a city? It sounds like a simple question, until you realise that countries define “urban” in exceptionally different ways. In Denmark, a settlement with 200 people qualifies as urban. In Japan, you need 50,000 residents plus certain economic activities. With standards this far apart, comparing cities across borders is challenging. To smooth […]

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Photo of delegates at the Human Planet Forum, JRC Ispra, Italy - 19–21 November 2025

Progress in Population and Urban Data: Highlights from the Human Planet Forum 2025

The 2025 Human Planet Forum gathered global experts in population modelling, urban analytics, and Earth observation for three days of scientific progress and growing collaboration. A central theme throughout the meeting was the acceleration of high-resolution, openly accessible global datasets and included a presentation by Professor Andy Tatem of our new, open Global 2 (2015-2030)

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