A GIS Approach to Estimation of Building Population for Micro-spatial Analysis

Population data used in GIS analyses is generally assumed to be homogeneous and planar (i.e. census tracts, townships or prefectures) due to the public unavailability of building population data. However, information on building population is required for micro-spatial analysis for improved disaster management and emergency preparedness, public facility management for urban planning, consumer and retail market analysis, environment and public health programs and other demographic studies. This article discusses a GIS approach using the Areametric and Volumetric methods for estimating building population based on census tracts and building footprint datasets. The estimated results were evaluated using actual building population data by visual, statistical and spatial means, and validated for use in micro-spatial analysis. We have also implemented a standalone GIS tool (known as ‘PopShape GIS’) for generating new building footprint with population attribute information based on user-defined criteria.