World database of large urban areas, 1950-2050

This data was prepared by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil, between June and August 2009, and represents version 1.0 of this database.

Data was retrieved from World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population Database (online database), accessed June 8 2009. The population data was related to the ESRI Data & Maps 2008 cities dataset, where names matched, and coordinates for matching cities were retrieved using Hawhts' Tools. Cities not matched were researched using Google Earth and Wikipedia on June 9, 2009, most coordinates were retrieved from the coordinate pages on the latter sources (toolserver/geohack).

The data was rendered as an event layer in ArcGIS, and then exported as a shape file. The exercise was performed using Microsoft Access and Excel, together with ArcGIS and Google Earth Pro.

The database is available for unrestricted download, under the Creative Commons 2.5 attribution license. This gives you the right to reuse and modify the data, as long as Nordpil and the UN Population Division are properly credited.

Credit should be given to:

* Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil, http://nordpil.com

* UN Population Division and World Urbanization Prospects, 2007 Revision

The download and information page is at:

h[edited] updates, corrections on more information will be posted to this page.

All population figures are given in thousand inhabitants.