Built Area Ratio (BAR) for 211 Cities in France at 100m Resolution

This dataset supports a systematic comparative analysis of global building footprint datasets for urban applications. The central research hypothesis is that despite increasing availability of open-access building footprint data, significant variation exists in spatial coverage and accuracy across products, particularly when analyzed at fine spatial resolutions relevant to environmental modeling and urban planning. Specifically, the study evaluates how three widely used global building datasets, JRC Digital Building Stock Model (DBSM), Microsoft Bing Global Building Footprints, and EUBUCCO compare against France’s authoritative BD TOPO dataset in terms of built-up area representation.
To operationalize this comparison, Built Area Ratio (BAR)—defined as the total building footprint area divided by the total land area of each grid cell—was calculated for each dataset within a uniform 100 × 100 m grid covering 211 Cities mainland France. This resolution was chosen as it balances spatial granularity with computational efficiency and is commonly used in impervious surface estimation and urban density modeling. The dataset includes derived BAR values for each Grid cell within these cities.