topic Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class in Data Management Questions

Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

DebbieMurphy — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 14:21:50 GMT

Has anyone already converted the Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class? My Army Corps client is looking to do the entire US but wants to make sure it is not already done. If you know of any datasets, please point me to them.

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

DanPatterson_Retired — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 15:44:01 GMT

I highly doubt it given the size of the data set...

but there are some tools and links

GitHub - germrothdaniel/MicrosoftBuildingsToFeatureclass

And in this link

Texas Building Footprints

there are references to these links....

https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=9da0f8ae5fee45aca11bf77f712884c8

and the data

GitHub - Microsoft/USBuildingFootprints: Computer generated building footprints for the United States

The latter will give you an idea of the unzip geojson size. Probably a state-by-state conversion would be recommended

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

DebbieMurphy — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 12:30:32 GMT

Thanks Dan, I will pass this along.

Debbie Murphy

(704) 541.9810 x.8641

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

DanPatterson_Retired — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 12:41:25 GMT

Debbie, post back if the links were helpful

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

AndrewBartell — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 21:02:29 GMT

I've tried this tool from two different sources and in both scenarios I get this error. Has anyone else ran into this?

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

DanPatterson_Retired — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 21:36:44 GMT

looks like that script was written for python 2.7 and it is being run in python 3.x since print is now a function and you need to enclose what you intend to print inside round brackets.. ie print(stuff) instead of print stuff

So either the script needs to be corrected or it needs to be run under a python 2.7 environment

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

GregConiglio — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 13:35:00 GMT

I had a similar question, and posted on here this week.. but I just solved the issue!

I just successfully converted the New York State JSON file from Microsoft's GitHub downloads, using ArcGIS Pro 2.3 and it's "JSON To Features" Tool. I read somewhere in ESRI documentation that if the input is GeoJSON, not plain JSON, that you have to specify feature type: So I used this geoproc tool in the Python command window in Pro, not in the Toolbox, because the latter did not expose an option to select feature type.

A spot check of the resulting shapefile seems to suggest this worked great! 4,844,438 buildings resulted, and it didn't take THAT long considering (22 min)

Give it a try!

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

MarkBockenhauer — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 14:19:39 GMT

This exists https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=bb69f10baf334d4c935a0fb23d758f38

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

GregConiglio — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 14:33:09 GMT

Thanks! This is another good resources, and easy way to browse the data!

In my case I wanted to download them because I have some additional uses for them, including trying to build them into viewshed analyses.(Yes I know that we don't have heights in most places on this data -- yet, but the footprints may still be useful with some assumptions built in)

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

StuartHamilton — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 23:41:35 GMT

I have them all as shapefiles for each state

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

dasa7223 — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 17:10:22 GMT

Any chance you can share the CA shapefile? Having a heck of a time trying to convert and the ESRI data site is not letting me download the shapefile directly.

Re: Convert Microsoft Building Footprints to Feature Class

SeongHopkins — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 16:13:11 GMT

Hello Stuart, would you be able to share the shp files for TN?