How to Import GeoJSON into Blender in 2026: Open Data to 3D
GeoJSON is the lingua franca of open geodata on the web: city governments publish building footprints as GeoJSON, researchers share datasets on GitHub as .geojson, and tools like Overpass Turbo export OpenStreetMap queries in GeoJSON. If you want that data in Blender as real, georeferenced geometry, the reliable free route is: GeoJSON → QGIS → Shapefile → BlenderGIS. BlenderGIS (v2.2.15, released 2025-12-20; GPL-3.0; GitHub domlysz/BlenderGIS) has no native GeoJSON importer, so the conversion step is not optional — but it is fast, and it preserves coordinates and attributes.
Where to get GeoJSON data
Three dependable sources cover most use cases:
- Overpass Turbo (overpass-turbo.eu) — query OpenStreetMap (e.g. “all buildings in this bounding box”) and export the result as GeoJSON. Great for 3D city scenes; our companion guide covers importing OSM buildings through a shorter path if OSM is your only source.
- City and national open-data portals — many publish parcels, footprints, trees or administrative boundaries as GeoJSON downloads.
- GitHub datasets — countless research and community datasets are distributed as
.geojsonfiles.
The coordinate-order trap: [longitude, latitude]
GeoJSON stores every coordinate as [longitude, latitude] — x first, then y. This is the opposite of the “lat, lon” order most people say out loud, and it trips up a lot of beginners who hand-edit GeoJSON or write quick scripts around it:
[ -122.4194, 37.7749 ]
That point is San Francisco (longitude −122.42, latitude 37.77). Read it backwards and you land in the ocean off Antarctica. As long as you let QGIS do the reading, this is handled for you — QGIS parses GeoJSON per the spec. The trap only bites when you preprocess coordinates yourself, so remember: in GeoJSON, longitude always comes first.
Step 1 — Open the GeoJSON in QGIS
Load the file
- In QGIS: Layer → Add Layer → Add Vector Layer…, source type File, browse to your
.geojson. - QGIS detects the geometry type and the CRS automatically. Per the GeoJSON specification, coordinates are WGS 84 (EPSG:4326) unless the file explicitly says otherwise. Confirm with right-click → Properties → Information.
- Open the attribute table (right-click → Open Attribute Table) to see the fields your GeoJSON carried — names, heights, land-use classes, whatever the publisher included. These attributes survive the shapefile conversion, and BlenderGIS can use them (for example, to filter or to drive extrusion by a height field).
Step 2 — Export to Shapefile (keeping attributes)
Save as Shapefile
- Right-click the layer → Export → Save Features As…
- Format: ESRI Shapefile. Set the output file name.
- CRS: keep the layer’s CRS (EPSG:4326 for standard GeoJSON).
- Encoding: UTF-8 if the data includes non-ASCII text.
- Click OK.
One caveat: the shapefile format limits field names to 10 characters, so QGIS will truncate long attribute names on export. Check the truncated names in the new layer’s attribute table so you reference the right fields later in BlenderGIS.
Step 3 — Import into Blender with BlenderGIS
BlenderGIS import
- In Blender: GIS → Import → Shapefile, select your
.shp. - The geometry arrives georeferenced — at its true position on Earth. Extrude building footprints by a height attribute, drape polygons on terrain, or combine with a basemap as shown in the QGIS-to-Blender workflow guide.
- If your source was Google Earth data rather than open data, the companion guide importing KML/KMZ into Blender covers that journey.
Troubleshooting
Geometry appears in the wrong hemisphere? Some publisher probably mixed up coordinate order when generating the file. Open the raw GeoJSON in a text editor and check whether the first number of a coordinate pair looks like a longitude (−180 to 180) or a latitude (−90 to 90).
Nothing renders / empty layer? Large GeoJSON exports sometimes contain null geometries. In QGIS, use Processing → Remove null geometries before exporting.
Attribute names look truncated? Expected — shapefile field names max out at 10 characters. The data is intact; only the names are shortened. Rename fields in QGIS before export if you need readable names.
File too big for QGIS? GeoJSON is a verbose text format. For very large files, convert to a GeoPackage in QGIS (right-click → Export → Save Features As… → GeoPackage) for faster handling, then export the final shapefile from the GeoPackage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can BlenderGIS import GeoJSON directly?
No. BlenderGIS v2.2.15 does not include a GeoJSON importer. The standard free method is to open the GeoJSON in QGIS, export it as a shapefile, and import that with GIS → Import → Shapefile in Blender.
Why does GeoJSON put longitude before latitude?
The GeoJSON specification defines coordinates as [longitude, latitude], i.e. [x, y] order, consistent with most math and GIS conventions. It is the opposite of the “lat, lon” phrasing people use in conversation, which is why mixing them up is such a common error.
Will my GeoJSON attributes survive the trip into Blender?
Yes, with one caveat: shapefiles truncate field names to 10 characters. The attribute values transfer intact, and BlenderGIS imports them along with the geometry, so you can use fields like building height for extrusion.
Where can I find free GeoJSON data?
Overpass Turbo (overpass-turbo.eu) exports OpenStreetMap queries as GeoJSON; many city and national open-data portals publish GeoJSON downloads; and countless research datasets are shared as .geojson files on GitHub.
Is this different from the KML/KMZ workflow?
The conversion mechanics are nearly identical — QGIS reads the format and exports a shapefile for BlenderGIS. The difference is the data journey: this guide covers open-data and developer sources (Overpass Turbo, data portals, GitHub), while the KML/KMZ guide covers the Google Earth user journey. The two guides link to each other for whichever path fits your source file.
My GeoJSON file is huge. What should I do?
GeoJSON is verbose plain text. Import it into QGIS, then re-export as a GeoPackage for compact local storage and faster processing, and export the final shapefile from the GeoPackage before importing into BlenderGIS.
Do I need to reproject the data before importing into Blender?
Usually not. BlenderGIS handles geographic CRSs like EPSG:4326 on import. Keep the data in its original CRS through the QGIS export, and only reproject if a specific downstream step requires a projected coordinate system.