Ground3d is a home for new community data tools.

Our first initiative, Cloudburst Collective, invites residents to document street-level flooding in real time. By turning everyday observations into trusted datasets, we help fill critical gaps in climate resilience planning.

But Cloudburst Collective is only the beginning. We are building both a protocol and a community around a future where hyperlocal data collection and community control are the norm. This means creating infrastructure that enables neighborhoods to decide what data to gather, how to govern it, and how to share in the value it generates.

Ground3d exists to make community-led, hyperlocal data the foundation of more just and resilient cities.

Closing the Data Gaps

The climate crisis is unfolding at the street level — in flooded basements, overheated apartments, and neighborhoods cut off by stormwater. Yet most of the data we rely on comes from satellites, remote sensors, or broad institutional models that can’t always capture what’s happening block by block. Without local infrastructure for climate data, decision-makers are often forced to plan in the dark, leaving communities vulnerable.

Breaking Away from Corporate Capture

Today, much of the world’s environmental and spatial data is collected, stored, and monetized by corporations. These systems are designed to generate profit, not to serve the public good. Communities rarely see the benefits of the data they help create — and too often, they don’t even have access to it. A new data economy is needed, one rooted in transparency, equity, and shared value, where the people who experience climate impacts have a say in how their data is used.

The Power of Community-Engaged Data

Ground3D believes the most effective data comes from the people closest to the issue. Community-engaged data collection is not just about filling gaps — it builds trust, strengthens resilience, and ensures that local knowledge is part of the climate solutions being designed. When residents collect and govern their own data, they create a foundation for action that is both more accurate and more just.

Ground3d was started in 2025 by Zoe Voss Lee and Wil Jones. We met at MIT in the City Planning department, and decided to join forces in our commitment to building technology that strengthens community power.

Zoe is a city planner and technologist whose work focuses on climate resilience, data equity, and participatory mapping. Wil brings a background in philanthropy, resilience strategy, and economic development. Together, we saw the need for tools that allow communities not only to document climate impacts, but also to control and benefit from the data they create.

We’re building an open-source protocol for community-owned environmental data. This protocol will serve as the foundation for local data cooperatives and tools that allow residents to:

• Document conditions in their own neighborhoods — from flooding to air quality to cultural heritage.

• Decide how that data is stored, shared, and licensed.

• Receive direct benefits when their contributions inform resilience planning, research, or new solutions.

The Ground3d protocol is designed to grow — enabling communities to build networks that track air quality, monitor extreme heat, or preserve cultural landmarks. Each project will follow the same principles: local ownership, equitable governance, and shared benefit.

To make this possible, we’re building on Web3 and blockchain infrastructure. The Ground3d protocol will allow data to be stored securely, governed transparently, and licensed in ways that return value directly to contributors. By combining hyperlocal data collection with decentralized tools for ownership and governance, we are laying the foundation for a new kind of data economy — one where communities lead.