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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 →

Data source

Where the building data comes from

A figure-ground plan is only as accurate as its source. Three are available for German cities — the cadastre is the more accurate one, OpenStreetMap the faster one.

Source Coverage and quality License Effort
OpenStreetMap Available worldwide. Outlines are usually positioned correctly, but the level of detail varies from region to region with how thoroughly it has been mapped. ODbL. Attribution is mandatory. A derived database has to be released under ODbL again; a map drawn from it does not. Low — ready-made extracts from Geofabrik, targeted queries via Overpass.
Official land register (cadastre) Complete coverage within its country and the most accurate basis for building footprints, because it comes from cadastral surveying. In Germany this is governed state by state, mostly under Datenlizenz Deutschland (dl-de/by-2-0 or zero-2-0). The required attribution notice is listed for every state in our cadastral map. Medium — the responsible authority, the portal and the file format differ from state to state.
Aerial or satellite imagery Available even where no vector data exists — accuracy depends on resolution and viewing angle. Depends on the provider and is often restricted. Check before publishing. High — a raster image contains no outlines. They have to be traced by hand or extracted by segmentation.

Which state authority is responsible for your federal state, and the licence its data carries, is listed for every state in the cadastral map.

Guide

Create a Figure-Ground Plan Yourself – in 4 Steps

  1. 01

    Get the geodata

    Building outlines come either from the official cadastre or from OpenStreetMap. OSM data is available as a ready-made regional extract from Geofabrik or through targeted Overpass API queries; our outlines are provided as SVG and GeoJSON.

  2. 02

    Filter out the buildings

    Load the file into QGIS and filter the building polygons — for OSM data use the expression "building" IS NOT NULL. Then actually clip the extent (Vector → Geoprocessing → Clip) instead of merely panning the view: otherwise the export takes the whole region with it.

  3. 03

    Separate figure from ground

    Simple fill, black, stroke off. The stroke is the most common mistake: a hairline around every building makes dense quarters print grey instead of black. The ground stays white — a figure-ground plan needs nothing more.

  4. 04

    Set the scale and export

    Enter the scale explicitly in the print layout instead of guessing at the zoom: 1:5000 to 1:10000 for city extents, 1:2000 for quarters. Exporting as SVG or PDF keeps the plan vectorial — drop shadows and blend modes, by contrast, force QGIS to rasterise the layer.

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.
Can I create a site plan for a building application myself?
Not the official site plan. It is a mandatory part of the building application and may only be issued by a publicly appointed surveyor or the cadastral office. What you can draw yourself is the qualified site plan, which builds on it and adds the project itself: setback areas, heights, access. What it has to contain is set out on Site plan for the building application. A plan drawn from OSM or cadastral data stays a planning and presentation basis — it does not replace a building submission document.
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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