A global urban microwave backscatter time series data set for 1993-2020 using ERS, QuikSCAT, and ASCAT data.

Urban settlements are rapidly growing outward and upward, with consequences for resource use, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem and public health, but rates of change are uneven around the world. Understanding trajectories and predicting consequences of global urban expansion requires quantifying rates of change with consistent, well-calibrated data. Microwave backscatter data provides important information on upward urban growth - essentially the vertical built-up area.