The degree of urbanization provides urbanization level information at 100x100 meter grids for Germany. It is based on population numbers, building density and the share of building types. It is provided as a continuous percentage value representing the probability of the degree of urbanization, as well as five discrete values representing classes of the degree of urbanization: definitely ‘urban’, probably ‘urban’, area of uncertainty, probably ‘rural’, definitely ‘rural’.

The “Degree of Urbanization” was created based on 29 different urbanization layers, which reflect various definitions of “urban space.” Fifteen definitions are based on administrative interpretations of “urban space.” These definitions were applied to Germany from various countries around the world. The remaining 14 layers were generated using variable threshold values at the grid level. These define the degree of urbanization according to different thresholds (i.e. 1%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 99%) based on different variables, such as the proportion of built-up area, the number of inhabitants, or the proportion of multi-family houses. These 29 layers were superimposed and intersected with each other across the entire study area to obtain a probability of the degree of urbanization.