An international community-based effort.
The impact of cities on the climate at urban, regional and global scales is a topic of considerable debate. Much of the relevant research to date has been focused on mapping urban centers using demographic and administrative information, often supplemented by remote sensing. However, these data provide no information on the internal make-up of cities, which is important for understanding their impact on the environment as well as their vulnerability to change. The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes the dearth of information on urban areas. The goals of WUDAPT are
Its guiding principle is to generate “fit for purpose” urban data using a globally consistent methodology using available, publicly accessible input data and tools. Products created from this process are shared across multiple communities and platform.