GHS-SMOD ARCTIC R2025A – degree of urbanisation settlement model for the Arctic region (1975-2030)

These spatial raster datasets depict the application of the Degree of Urbanisation stage I methodology recommended by UN Statistical Commission to the global population grid generated by the JRC for the epochs 1975 to 2030, in 5-year timesteps. The Degree of Urbanisation method classifies the Earth's surface into three (level 1) or seven (level 2) classes, modelling settlements across a rural-urban gradient. For example, level one distinguishes between urban centres, peri-urban/semidense areas, and rural areas. The Degree of Urbanisation method is based on segmentation of gridded population data (GHS-POP_ARCTIC_R2025A) and gridded built-up surface estimates from GHS-BUILT-S_ARCTIC_R2025A) in the North Pole LAEA Europe (EPSG:3575) spatial reference system. These datasets represent the Degree of Urbanisation settlement model at the detailed level 2. The level-1 classification can be obtained by class aggregation.