What this is

The footprint of every building in Oklahoma City — captured from aerial imagery collected in 2020 — with its elevation above sea level.

Why it matters to you

This is the dataset that makes flood-risk maps, solar-potential calculators, and “how much of my lot is covered by structure?” questions answerable. It’s also a time capsule: the data was collected in 2020, so every building built since then is invisible to it. Understanding when data was collected is a civic superpower — most arguments about “the data is wrong” turn out to be “the data is old.”

How to read this data

  • Elevation — height above sea level in feet. Combine with flood zone maps to understand your property’s drainage reality.
  • Area — the building’s footprint in square feet. This is the “building coverage” number that matters for lot-coverage rules.
  • Shape — the actual outline. The data comes from aerial imagery, so outlines may not perfectly match what’s on the ground.

Try it yourself

Find your own home’s footprint and check its Area. Now count how many new buildings near you went up after 2020 — anything newer simply won’t be in this dataset. That’s your reminder to always check a dataset’s collection date before trusting it.