Global 1-km Downscaled Urban Land Extent Projection and Base Year Grids by SSP Scenarios, 2000-2100

The Global 1-km Downscaled Urban Land Extent Projection and Base Year Grids by SSP Scenarios, 2000-2100 consists of global SSP-consistent spatial urban land fraction data for the base year 2000 and projections at ten-year intervals for 2010-2100 at a resolution of 1-km (about 30 arc-seconds). An algorithm was developed and validated to downscale the 1/8-degree resolution data set to 1-km resolution. For a given decade, the downscaling algorithm allocates the 1/8-degree decadal amount of urban land expansion to 1-km grid cells in proportion to their total urban land amounts at the beginning of the decade. The algorithm uses an iterative process to collect any overflows from already highly-developed 1-km grid cells, and then allocates them to 1-km grid cells that are not yet fully developed. This iterative process repeats itself until all 1/8-degree amounts of urban land expansion are allocated to 1-km grid cells with no overflow. The downscaling process is applied decade by decade throughout the 21st century for each urban land expansion scenario. The final product is a set of global maps displaying the 1-km fraction of urban land, updated at decadal intervals throughout the 21st century, for five different urban land expansion scenarios consistent with the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs).