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SCHWARZPLAN.EU
Guide / Tool

Create a Figure-Ground Plan

Three ways to a figure-ground plan: free geodata, draw it yourself in QGIS – or download it ready-made and true-to-scale as a vector file in seconds.

Free geodata → Ready-made figure-ground plans
QGIS · OpenStreetMap · PDF · DWG · SVG

Three Ways

Which way suits you?

Free

Geodata & Outlines

Download free city outlines as SVG and GeoJSON and assemble your figure-ground plan yourself.

To the geodata tool →

Draw It Yourself

QGIS & OpenStreetMap

Full control: filter building data, choose the extent, colour the figure-ground and export. Guide below.

To the guide →

Buy Ready-Made

Instant & true-to-scale

No GIS skills needed: choose city and format, download a print-ready vector figure-ground plan instantly.

To the shop →

Guide

Create a Figure-Ground Plan Yourself – in 4 Steps

  1. 01

    Get the geodata

    Download your city's building outlines as free outlines or GeoJSON – e.g. from OpenStreetMap or directly via our geodata tool.

  2. 02

    Extract the buildings

    Open the data in QGIS and filter the built-up areas (building=*). Crop it to the extent you want.

  3. 03

    Colour the figure-ground

    Colour the buildings black on a white background (or inverted). This figure-ground representation is the actual figure-ground plan.

  4. 04

    Scale & export

    Set the scale (e.g. 1:5000) and export as vector (PDF, SVG, DWG/DXF) – so the plan stays scalable without loss.

Too little time for the GIS work? Ready-made figure-ground plans are available as an instant download.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about the Figure-Ground Plan

What is a black plan?
A figure-ground plan (Schwarzplan) shows a city's built-up areas in black on a white background. It makes the urban structure – density, block edges, open spaces – legible at a glance and is a standard tool in architecture and urban planning.
Can I create a figure-ground plan for free?
Yes. Using free building data from OpenStreetMap and a GIS such as QGIS, you can create a figure-ground plan yourself. Our geodata & outlines are also free. If you have no time for the GIS work, download a ready-made, true-to-scale figure-ground plan as a vector file.
Is there a figure-ground plan generator?
There are tools and scripts that automatically render figure-ground plans from OSM data. For clean, print-ready results at the right scale, however, a ready-made plan is usually worth it: at SCHWARZPLAN.eu you choose city and format and download instantly – no GIS skills required.
In what format do I get the figure-ground plan?
As a vector file – PDF, DWG, DXF, SVG and additionally PNG. Vector data stays sharp at any scale and can be edited directly in CAD, Illustrator or QGIS.
What scale makes sense for a figure-ground plan?
For city extents 1:5000 to 1:10000 are common, for neighbourhoods 1:2000. For a site plan for a building application, however, 1:500 usually applies – you will find details on our site plan for the building application page.

More in the Catalogue

Countries & Regions

Figure-Ground Plans by Country & Region

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