A global urban and rural settlement dataset spanning 2000 to 2020 has been released, providing insights into various aspects of urbanization. The data has been used to analyze trends such as city-level carbon emissions, urban demographic change, and the rural-urban infrastructure gap, with some studies focusing on specific regions like Southeast Asia and China. The dataset may also inform projections about future urbanization, including a forecast that nearly 70% of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2050.