OSM Building Footprints Vector Tiles Dataset – Dominica, 2025

Demonstration Case Name

 Multihazards in the Caribbean SIDS

Dataset Title

OSM Building Footprints Vector Tiles Dataset – Dominica, 2025

Dataset Description

This dataset consists of vector tiles containing OpenStreetMap building footprints, processed using Planetiler. The MBTiles format stores geometric representations of buildings as vector data, enabling efficient rendering and analysis within digital twin environments. The dataset maintains precise spatial relationships and supports scalable visualization across multiple zoom levels.

Key Methodologies

Vector tile generation using Planetiler processing pipeline Input data transformation from OSM PBF format
Feature mapping according to OpenMapTiles schema Optimized tile sorting and grouping for efficient querying

Temporal Domain

Current snapshot of building footprints as of March 2025, representing the state of OpenStreetMap contributions up to February 2025.

Spatial Domain

Geographic extent covering Dominica (15°25′N latitude, 61°20′W longitude), including all administrative boundaries within the island nation and surrounding water body.

Key Indicators

Building footprint area and perimeter measurements
Spatial relationships between adjacent structures
Vector tile zoom level coverage (0-16)
Feature density per tile quadrant
Building geometry complexity metrics

Data Format

MBTiles SQLite database containing vector tiles in PBF format, organized according to OpenMapTiles schema specifications

Source Data

Primary source: OpenStreetMap building footprints Processing tool: Planetiler vector tile generator github.com Schema compliance: OpenMapTiles specification Coordinate reference system: Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)

Accessibility

Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15234667

Stakeholder Relevance

Urban planning departments
Emergency response organizations
Infrastructure development teams
Disaster risk assessment analysts
Digital twin platform developers

Limitations/Assumptions

Data currency limited to OSM contribution timeline
Building geometries represent ground-level footprints only Vertical structures represented as single-level features
Data completeness varies by region within Dominica and Contributions Amount.
Updates require periodic regeneration of tilesets
Processing time scales linearly with dataset size (its around 128gbs for the whole world and might take around 8hrs to process at once. )

Additional Information

Technical specifications:
Vector tile format needed: PBF (Protocol Buffers) from : https://extract.bbbike.org/ or  https://www.geofabrik.de/de/index.html
Storage structure: SQLite database Schema
compatibility: OpenMapTiles
Processing requirements: ~1.5x RAM of input size
Expected output should result in : mbtile file format 

Refer to this repository for more :
https://github.com/onthegomap/planetiler

Contact Information

a.y.ali@student.utwente.nl