Land Use Data: Best Land Use Datasets & Databases

What is Land Use Data?

The term ‘land use data’ and ‘land cover data’ can be used to refer to the data that describes various uses under which land is put on the earth’s surface. Land use mapping is one of the ways such data is presented and it can come in two forms. National scale land used data gives an account of agricultural land utilization and satellite imagery for description. The other one is catchment scale land use data, which exclusively outlines agricultural activities on the earth’s surface.

How is Land Use Data collected?

Land use data is normally collected through resource surveys, historical aerial photographs, and farming system studies that can also generate such data at a local scale. However, one of the most common methods for the collection of land use data is the use of satellite imaging. The fact that land use/land cover data is limited is because satellite data acquisition is expensive and, usually, the classification process is a very labor intensive process. Due to this fact, most of the available land use data is usually out of date because of how long it takes for satellite images to be released.

What are the typical attributes of Land Use Data?

Land use is categorized into various types including, institutional area, industrial area, road greenbelt, roadside, park, forest, and residential. Agricultural lands are majorly set aside in designated areas in many countries. Land use data attributes include characteristics of land such as slope angle, rainfall, water capacity available, the biomass of the vegetation, and soil texture, among others.

How is Land Use Data commonly used?

The data is useful in determining certain land cover trends that have a wide range of ecological consequences if not well-handled. Land utilization will also help a country predict its ability to feed its population or even to gauge its main sources of income. This is useful for policymakers as they can channel resources to the right places in a manner that will boost the economy. In a nutshell, land use data reveals valuable methods in the determination of various land use and cover types, which include urban, forest, shrubland, and agricultural land.

How can a user assess the quality of Land Use Data?

The quality can be assessed by looking at the accuracy and completeness. Accuracy ought to provide factual information on the land cover on the surface of the earth. The data should also be current because such information gets updated so rapidly with changes in human activities. To get current information, the user should acquire land use data from various sources to make a comparison and thus ensure that the information is up-to-date. This is because some databases may not present the latest information.

Where can I buy Land Use Data?

Data providers and vendors listed on Datarade sell Land Use Data products and samples. Popular Land Use Data products and datasets available on our platform are Regrid: Geospatial Data | Land Parcel Intelligence US by Regrid, Regrid: Real Estate Data US | Land Parcel Ownership, Legal Boundaries Mapped by Regrid, and USLandGrid Nationwide Land Grid Data by USLandGrid.

How can I get Land Use Data?

You can get Land Use Data via a range of delivery methods - the right one for you depends on your use case. For example, historical Land Use Data is usually available to download in bulk and delivered using an S3 bucket. On the other hand, if your use case is time-critical, you can buy real-time Land Use Data APIs, feeds and streams to download the most up-to-date intelligence.