Data description of "building age map, Vienna, around 1920".

Area of Science:

• Urban Planning
• Historical Geography
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Background:

• Building age maps are crucial for understanding urban development but historical maps are often unavailable.
• Vienna possesses a unique analog building age map from around 1920, covering 80% of the present building footprint.
• The analog format hinders spatial analysis and the creation of historical time-series data for building stock.

Purpose of the Study:

• To digitize Vienna's 1920 analog building age map for enhanced spatial analysis.
• To create a comprehensive dataset for studying building stock evolution over the last century.
• To facilitate urban history research and resource management through accessible historical building data.

Main Methods:

• Manual vectorization of 80,640 building footprints from 134 historical map sheets.
• Digitization of color-encoded thematic information from the analog map to assign construction dates.
• Cross-referencing with a historical building registry using address matching for date validation.

Main Results:

• A digital building age map of Vienna circa 1920 was generated, covering 2,279 hectares of building footprint.
• Analysis revealed 14% of buildings were older than 70 years and 63% were younger.
• Data quality checks and validation against external sources were performed, with discussions on limitations and improvements.

Conclusions:

• The created digital dataset provides valuable insights into Vienna's building stock history.
• This resource supports spatio-temporal analysis of urban development, aiding historical research and urban management.
• The study highlights the importance of digitizing historical spatial data for contemporary research applications.