Work package 1 aims at developing a global Local Climate Zone (LCZ) map.

Based upon extensive knowledge about deriving LCZ maps from remote-sensing products [1] and creating continental-scale LCZ maps (Europe [2], continental United States [3]), the ambition is to produce a high-resolution and high-quality global LCZ map for application in (urban) climate investigations.

The map shall be based on various remote sensing products and crowdsourced collection of global LCZ training data.

In addition, an open, online, cloud-based dashboard for LCZ classification will be developed to allow users to rapidly map their city of choice using more specific training data or specific LCZ-subclasses.

References:
[1] Bechtel, B., Alexander, P. J., Böhner, J., Ching, J., Conrad, O., Feddema, J., Mills, G., See, L. and Stewart, I. D. (2015): Mapping Local Climate Zones for a Worldwide Database of the Form and Function of Cities. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 4: 199-219. DOI: 10.3390/ijgi4010199
[2] Demuzere, M., Bechtel, B., Middel, A. and Mills, G. (2019): Mapping Europe into local climate zones. PLoS ONE 14 (4): e0214474. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214474
[3] Demuzere, M., Hankey, S., Mills, G., Zhang, W., Lu, T. and Bechtel, B. (2020): Combining expert and crowd-sourced training data to map urban form and functions for the continental US. Sci. Data 7: 264. DOI: 10.1038/s41597-020-00605-z