This project aims to create the first open database of global building stock and population distribution containing the spatial, structural, and occupancy-related information necessary for damage, loss and human casualty (estimation) models to be deployed in GEM. The project goes by the name of GED4GEM.
The overall structure of the project is aimed at managing three main tasks:
- collection, analysis and homogenization of global databases that may be available and useful for the global exposure database;
- definition and implementation of a global exposure database based on the output of task1;
- definition of “best practices” aimed at populating missing layers and or information in specific geographical areas.
The project has a 3-year duration and a budget of almost € 900,000 Euro.
The consortium will start by building on existing databases (e.g. UN, regional and other public organizations, governmental building census data, national statistics) and published literature. It will then collect population and building stock data for at least the first level of sub-national boundaries for all countries of the world. The database should be able to incorporate data assembled using the Inventory Data Capture Tools. The consortium will furthermore devise and document a systematic and flexible approach for global application. Finally, an open data development environment is to be created for future modification and improvement of the database.
Take a look at the GED4GEM presentation that Paolo Gamba gave on December 2nd 2010 during GEM's bi-annual Progress Review Meeting.
Consortium
The consortium comprises some of the major players in the definition, population and management of global databases, either in the field of risk analysis or for other related fields. The partners making up the consortium are: the University of Pavia (coordinator), CIESIN-Colombia University, IES-CEA, IGP-CEA, ImageCat, JRC and UN-HABITAT. The USGS and Eucentre are advising partners.
For more detailed information on the consortium, please click here.
Planning and Work Packages
The schedule of the project has two distinct phases: the identification and collection of existing databases, mainly coming from in situ surveys, are expected to be completed in the first 9 months of the project. The months from 6 to 12 will be used to define, in accordance with the “Ontology and Taxonomy” and the “Global Vulnerability Estimation Methods” consortia, the structure of the exposure database. The database will include as much as possible existing data sets at the building level, but also all other data sets useful to infer, through mapping schemes, information about the buildings, such as population and boundary datasets, national and sub-national socioeconomic data, e.g., on land use, age structure, economic activities, poverty distribution, educational level, and health status, that may be correlated with or important to hazard exposure, as well as physical and social vulnerability. The main core of the project, that is the population of the exposure database and the development of the procedures for its management, updating and improvement will cover the rest of the time span of the project.
There are 7 Work Packages that are linked together in the following way:
Read more on the background of the project and details of each Work Package.
Current Activities
A kick-off meeting of GED4GEM took place on 15-16 November in Pavia, Italy. Currently the consortium is taking its first steps, as the background for the development of a Global Exposure Database for GEM requires:
- a review of the global data sets that are or will be available and may change the inputs to the current population approaches;
- collection of feedbacks/recommendations from GEM-1 and partners involved in GEM activities related to exposure;
- analysis of the state-of-the-art exposure databases and the methodologies for mapping multiple data sets into relevant structural and eventually exposure data sets.
Presentations
Contact
The contactperson for the GED4GEM project is Paolo Gamba. He can be reached at paolo.gamba[at]unipv.it
