Low-cost geo-data acquisition for the urban built environment

In the urban environment there is a need for new and renovated building façades to be created in harmony with the existing environment. This paper describes a simple approach to the acquisition of geo-data. An off-the-shelf software package together with low-cost equipment was used to collect building inventory data from a combination of high-resolution digital and video camera images, digital close-range photogrammetry techniques and geographic information systems. The method consists of three stages. First the potential of geo-data acquisition is investigated by using a video camera and a digital camera. The second stage outlines the metric survey for the management of building façade inventory data for geographical information systems in making correct decisions in urban areas. The third stage explains how video camera images can be used to obtain attribute data related to different uses. The methodology developed was tested in a street in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It is concluded that this low-cost method using off-the-shelf software offers many advantages and benefits in different expertise fields, particularly for local governments and municipalities.