HeiGIT

✏️ The Sketch Map Tool was used in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to map busy areas around Mimboman Junction. In a workshop organiyed by UN Mappers, participants used satellite and drone maps to spot transport challenges that existing data may miss. Case study: buff.ly/fWhMDmw

#JobAlert: We are looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to join our team in Heidelberg and work on #GeoAI for humanitarian applications. Here is the full job description and the application link: buff.ly/Wh3kAZd

We have been busy working on shade-aware routing and heat-resilience assessment tools, a dashboard for disaster risk assessments, faster OpenStreetMap analysis, and new research on open environmental data and humanitarian logistics. All of this is in our latest newsletter: buff.ly/4qnbhK7

What trees grow in your neighborhood? 🌳 We mapped 16.3 million individual trees across #BadenWürttemberg by genus to support ecologists, planners, and health researchers. The dataset, code & training annotations are #opensource and designed to be adapted to other regions. 👉https://buff.ly/LUgnW1t

#openrouteservice releases a v 10.0.0 It modernizes the technical foundation of the engine. ORS is free & #opensource routing engine built on #OpenStreetMap data. It delivers directions, isochrones and distance matrices; supports heat-resilient mobility & humanitarian routing. buff.ly/Vn7sLtZ

We estimated CO2 emissions from residential heating in Germany at 100 m resolution, using #opendata. Cities emit most in total but often less per person than rural areas. Over half of homes predate 1979 & 80% heat with gas, oil, coal or wood, so switching could cut emissions fast. 👉 buff.ly/a9lQqbl

🚲 Map of the Month Using the Climate Action Navigator, we looked at Bologna's cycling network. 30% of cycling paths are shared with cars under a 30 km/h speed limit, showing how traffic regulation and cycling infrastructure work together in urban mobility. buff.ly/K1L9Eb8 #ZeDay #WorldCarFreeDay

Seven of eight safe and just Earth System Boundaries have already been breached. A new paper in Nature Human Behaviour asks what this means for health equity, and why responsibility cannot rest on individuals alone. buff.ly/ckdHozZ

With shadow data, we are building tools for climate-resilient urban planning. Free shade data for 136 cities in 44 European countries, plus two tools that use it. hiShade shows where shade is missing in a walkable network. Our routing tool finds walking routes. buff.ly/Un08NG6

Tropical mosquitoes are now local 🦟 In Heidelberg, we found Aedes albopictus breeding depends on urban structure: terraced housing hosted most sites, multi-family the least. Control reduces breeding, but unmanaged private plots remain the weak point. Local strategies matter. buff.ly/OCR1EdJ

What makes a street a place people want to walk? 🚶 HeiGIT and the Walk21 Foundation have expanded hiWalk assessment tool in the Climate Action Navigator with new indicators for tree shade, path lighting, tactile paving, nearby amenities, & many more. More: buff.ly/sTDJTQI #ClimateAction #Cities

The European cities with the most heat stress days have the least shade along their cycle paths. 🚴 Our new indicator for the 2026 #LancetCountdown Europe Cities Report measures tree shade along cycle paths in 885 European cities. 👉 buff.ly/OwRJ1Hr #ClimateAction #OpenStreetMap

Heidelberger Geoinformatiker klassifizieren globale Straßennetze: Straßenzustand als Indikator für sozioökonomischen Fortschritt – Öffentlich zugänglicher Datensatz kann auch für humanitäre Zwecke genutzt werden www.uni-heidelberg.de/de/newsroom/... #universität #heidelberg #uniheidelberg #giscience

@heigit.org advances GeoAI through international collaboration with Prof. Dr. Wenwen Li and Prof. Dr. Song Gao. New research into multimodal geospatial data and disaster response.

On #WorldHumanitarianDay, we honor communities that turn data into action🌍 At HeiGIT, tools like MapSwipe, Sketch Map Tool, OpenAccessLens and our #GIS Training Platform help connect geospatial data with local knowledge & humanitarian needs. 🔗https://youtube.com/shorts/wO4oE0gnvvk?feature=share

New tree shade indicator on our Climate Action Navigator maps tree shade street by street. Local governments & civil society organizations get a free, detailed view of where shade helps & where it is missing, so they know where new trees matter most. Blog: buff.ly/r6Vx8yd Tool: buff.ly/Jh1rz0S

It´s been a year since we released hiWalk: a free resource for cities and NGOs to assess walkability and discover the potential for making their cities more livable. Use it to see where infrastructure improvements would have the most impact in your city: climate-action.heigit.org/dashboard/pl...

Our very first newsletter is out! It´s about big changes in openrouteservice, heat-aware mobility projects from Germany to Tanzania, new geoinformatics publications & more: mailings.heigit.org/m/17210084/5... Sign up to have the next one delivered to your inbox: mailings.heigit.org/f/386599-406...

We have a new tool to visualize which buildings have solar panels, and where there is potential to produce more sustainable energy. Cities and NGOs can use it to develop targeted strategies to make their city less dependent on fossil fuels. Find out more: heigit.org?p=43119

HeiGIT started as a university project 10 years ago. Today, we are a non-profit organization with 70+ people and dozens of running projects on open-source geodata, GIS software and research for the benefit of the environment and society. A great reason to celebrate at our team retreat this week! 🎂

𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝟰.𝟲 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵’𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 #𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 🌍 Deep Time Walk turns Earth’s history into a 4.6 km walk, where every meter represents one million years. Using OpenStreetMap data, the Route Creator helps facilitators plan accurate routes. More info 👉 buff.ly/oH09FYF

Looking for high-res data for your work in climate-resilient urban planning, sustainable mobility, or local emission reduction policies? Explore the potential for climate action in your city on the Climate Action Navigator dashboard: climate-action.heigit.org More info: heigit.org/climate-acti...

One major help might come in the form of an #opensource app created by @heigit.org called #shaded. The #app identifies #heatstress along a route and suggests alternative paths that lead through parks and shaded areas. Full article:

🧵Imagine: Its the middle of #June and the first #heatwave has already hit. It's so hot outside that when you open your window, it feels more like opening an oven door on full blast and when the sun touches your skin it has no mercy... 👇

We are starting our own newsletter! It will be sent out every few weeks, to give you a glimpse behind the scenes of geoinformation technologies for humanitarian aid and climate action. 📩 Subscribe here to have it delivered to you email inbox: mailings.heigit.org/f/386599-406...

Our latest article writes about an app, developed by @heigit.org that shows you the shadiest routes to walk on hot sunny days 👇

🎉 Great news: Our project HEAL has been nominated for the Blue Compass Community Award! 🆒😎 What started in Heidelberg is now helping people find cooler routes in more than 80 cities across Germany. 🌇 👉 Vote for HEAL: www.umweltbundesamt.de/form/voting-... @uniheidelberg.bsky.social & @heigit.org

How do you calculate shade for multiple cities in real time? We want to share the technology behind our heat-avoiding routing and explain how it can be adapted to the specific needs of cities & municipalities. heigit.org/introducing-... #hitzeaktionstag

Climate change challenges every city differently. What are you tackling in your city? One year ago, we launched the Climate Action Navigator, an open dashboard with actionable data to build climate-resilient cities: buff.ly/vZZiNG8 Read more about its journey and applications: buff.ly/OgOc8zx

We´ve built a heat-avoiding routing app available in 80 German cities. It calculates pedestrian routes based on high-resolution shadow data, steering people away from sun-exposed roads. Want to co-develop it further based on your city`s data & needs? 📩 heal@heigit.org 👉 heigit.org/heat-resilie...

Another summer is approaching. What if routing could account for heat? Soon, we are releasing heat-avoiding routing for 80 major German cities & looking for municipalities to co-develop it and shape it to their local needs. 👉 heal@heigit.org #HeatAdaptation #SmartCity #OpenSource #Klimaanpassung

🚗💨New #OpenData tool to assess traffic emissions: The Climate Action Navigator, our interactive dashboard to aid urban #ClimateAction, can now also estimate transport emissions for all main roads in Germany, showing where policy changes (e. g. car-free areas) are most needed: buff.ly/h9vxgyW

🗺️ ohsomeNow Stats got a major upgrade! Individual statistics of #OpenStreetMap mappers are now available. Log in with your HeiGIT account to explore your OSM contribution history. 📑 Read more on our blog: heigit.org/new-user-sta... 📊 Explore OSM stats with ohsomeNow: stats.now.ohsome.org

Karten geben Daten Kontext – und machen sichtbar, wo Chancengerechtigkeit im Alltag fehlt. HeiGIT hat einen offenen Datensatz entwickelt, der weltweit zeigt, wie weit Menschen von der nächsten Schule oder dem nächsten Krankenhaus entfernt sind. Hier geht es zum Datensatz: shorturl.at/RNQM6

🗺️𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 – 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵, 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 Urban cycling depends also on the terrain. This map shows the slope of bike paths in Zurich, showing where action might be needed to make urban mobility more inclusive and accessible. More bikeability data: climate-action.heigit.org

We are proud to support the Common Space initiative of creating an #OpenData infrastructure with an independent, high-resolution humanitarian satellite mission. More on our blog: heigit.org/why-access-t... Common Space initiative website: www.commonspace.world Our letter of support 👇️

How reliable is #OpenStreetMap data for routing?🚙 In our latest blog post, we take a closer look at routing distance and travel time estimations and explain what drives the differences between OSM and commercial alternatives like Google Maps, with the help of the ohsome dashboard: buff.ly/6vLATVQ

Would you like to assess how accessible schools and healthcare are in your region? In our blog, we dive deeper into how OpenAccessLens works and what it can (and can´t) do: heigit.org?p=41765 ➡️OpenAccessLens web app: giscience.github.io/open-access-... ➡️Full dataset: data.humdata.org/organization...

Our team has been working in a collaborative sprint format to explore new features for the Climate Action Navigator. Some of the indicators we worked on in our latest development sprint: 🚗daily road traffic volume 💧wastewater treatment emissions 🚵slope-based mobility Blog: heigit.org/behind-the-s...

It´s been a fun and insightful week at the #FOSSGIS2026 in Göttingen. See you again next year... in Heidelberg! We are looking forward to being the host of the FOSSGIS conference 2027 and welcoming the DACH open source GIS community at Heidelberg University. #FOSSGIS2027 #opensource #GIS

How can cities turn data into real climate action? At #REALCORP 2026, HeiGIT will present how the #ClimateActionNavigator supports data-driven decision-making on emissions, active mobility, and renewable energy. 🔍 More info: buff.ly/hzZDTdO 🔗 CAN: buff.ly/JEd0eqD

Germany halved its CO2 emissions since 1979 . Yet emissions are still too high to comply with the Paris Agreement. We´ve looked at historic emissions trends and remaining emission budgets for 5 German cities: Berlin, Bonn, Hamburg, Heidelberg & Karlsruhe: 🔗 buff.ly/6tMvWcO

How far is too far to reach a school or clinic? OpenAccessLens maps global access to education & healthcare using travel-time data, helping humanitarian orgs, planners & researchers find the gaps. Open-source. Community-driven. 🌍 👉 heigit.org/a-map-is-bet... #OpenData #PublicHealth

🗺️ 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵: 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 💡 The Heating Emissions tool in HeiGIT's climate action navigator estimates CO2 emissions from residential heating. 🔗 Tool: buff.ly/Oc4zTJN 🔍 More Info: buff.ly/h0mk1F4

We are proud to share that the Sketch Map Tool was strategically used in Cali, Colombia In Cali, the project worked with the communities of Pance and Comuna 18, encouraging participatory mapping that puts citizens at the heart of risk analysis. 🔍 Read More: buff.ly/ibg7zF6 #SketchMapTool #CaliCo

We´ve released a #QGIS plugin and new datasets to make it easier for humanitarian organizations to assess disaster risk. Now they can run tailored risk assessments without advanced coding. And even skip most data processing. All #OpenData. Video tutorial & datasets: heigit.org/open-risk-as...

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 🌍✨ Today, we honor #WomenInScience whose groundbreaking achievements continue to shape and inspire their fields. This map shows all the places where women from HeiGIT have studied, worked, done research, and shared their knowledge. #WomenInSTEM

🚴 How bike friendly is your city? A BIKE Index uses open data and open source tools like #openrouteservice to benchmark cycling conditions across EU cities. By simulating 210 routes per city, the study shows where cycling works well & where infrastructure slows riders down. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2jxpa2ja

📢 Call for Papers BMC Environmental Science’s Collection, “AI for environmental and climate modeling,” is open for submissions. We welcome interdisciplinary research linking environmental science, climate science, AI, and computational modelling. 🗓️ 9.10.2026 🔗 buff.ly/ZjrCt9c

❄️🧪!! New Blog Alert !! 🧪❄️ In this blog posts, researchers from the @heigit.org explain how mapping permafrost can become a community effort blogs.egu.eu/divisions/cr... #scicomm #permafrost #arctic