City of Calgary LiDAR Mapping Program
- dominicku1
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
Capturing 1,175 km² of Urban and Rural Infrastructure
High-resolution LiDAR and aerial imagery supporting urban development monitoring, flood modelling, and municipal GIS modernization.
Project Summary
Since 2022, this program has delivered LiDAR acquisition across more than 1,175 km² of urban and rural areas in and around the City of Calgary.
The work supports ongoing modernization of the City’s geospatial infrastructure by providing accurate, current datasets aligned with municipal standards and operational needs.
Public Data & Resources
The City of Calgary provides open access to a range of geospatial datasets supporting planning, analysis, and public use.
Relevant datasets related to this program can be accessed below:
Problem / Objective
The City required consistent, year-over-year geospatial updates to keep pace with rapid growth, new development, active construction, and future planning areas.
Updated datasets, including hydro-flattened DEMs, 3D building models, and classified LiDAR point clouds, needed to support a range of advanced analyses such as:
volumetric calculations
construction monitoring
flood inundation modelling
multi-temporal change detection
The deliverables also had to integrate seamlessly with internal workflows and public-facing geospatial platforms.
Approach
We executed an integrated LiDAR and imagery acquisition program designed to meet municipal standards for accuracy and consistency.
Using remote sensing and GIS-based processing, we produced high-density datasets optimized for:
spatial analysis
3D modelling
enterprise GIS integration
Semi-automated workflows enabled efficient processing of large mixed urban and rural datasets while ensuring alignment with the City’s coordinate systems and data structures.
Outcome / Lessons Learned
The program delivered a comprehensive, up-to-date geospatial baseline that supports planning, engineering, construction, and public data initiatives.
The datasets enhanced the City’s ability to perform accurate volumetric analysis, monitor year-over-year change, and maintain a reliable spatial foundation for decision-making.
Through this work, we refined processing techniques for handling large municipal datasets and strengthened methodologies for producing consistent, repeatable annual deliverables, supporting long-term sustainability of the City’s geospatial program.
