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.
![](https://www.visgraf.impa.br/mediascopium/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/usBuilfdingFootprints.jpg)
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.”.