District of Columbia Digital Surface Model from 2022 LiDAR

A 1-meter resolution Digital Surface Model (DSM) for the District of Columbia, created from 2022 LiDAR data. The dataset has undergone redaction by the United States Secret Service, removing all data returns within a specified boundary except for ground and water points. Some areas have limited data coverage.

Use Cases

• Analyze urban elevation and building height using the 1-meter resolution DSM for 3D city modeling.
• Assess terrain and surface features for hydrological modeling, utilizing the classified ground and water points.
• Support infrastructure planning and line-of-sight analysis with high-resolution surface data for Washington, D.C.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution 1-meter grid data for detailed surface analysis.
• Includes classified ground and water points retained after official redaction procedures.
• Data is recent, sourced from a 2022 LiDAR collection campaign.

Limitations

• Data coverage is incomplete, with limited data in some areas.
• The dataset has been redacted, which may remove features of interest for certain analyses.
• Access is via web services (HTML, ArcGIS REST API), not a direct downloadable file.

Provenance

Source

District of Columbia government via Data.gov.

Collection Method

Derived from a 2022 LiDAR survey, with redaction conducted under U.S. Secret Service guidance.

Time Range

2022

Freshness

Last metadata update was May 7, 2025.

Geography

District of Columbia, Washington D.C.