LuminoCity: new interactive map tool sheds light on British cities

Population growth is concentrated in the inner and east of the capital, reflecting the priorities of the London Plan. Growth has also been strong in Milton Keynes, Brighton and Cambridge.

Britain has an incredible richness and diversity of cities, and since the turn of the century there has been significant urban revival and renewal. Yet there are also persistent urban problems in the UK that are proving very difficult to solve. Understanding and comparing social and economic trends can play an important role in identifying where cities are succeeding and failing, sharing best practice, and assessing where policy changes are needed.

This is the approach weve taken with LuminoCity3D, a new interactive city mapping platform which allows intuitive visual comparisons between cities across a wide range of indicators, providing insights into patterns and dynamics. These indicators are mapped using a new 3D grid-based approach which allows consistent comparisons between urban areas.

All the datasets have been transformed to a 1km2 hexagon grid, providing a standardised spatial framework for the whole of Britain. Each grid cell is also displayed as a 3D block with heights representing, say, population or employment density. The transformation produces errors where the original data is not evenly distributed spatially and these can be significant in rural areas where populations are sparser and census zones larger, so villages and rural areas are not included in the visualisation.

The main positive trend for British cities is one of significant growth. London gained one million residents between 2001 and 2011, and this growth has spilled across the south-east. The fastest growth in percentage terms has been in medium-sized settlements such as Milton Keynes (20%), Ipswich (15%), and Cambridge (16%) - see the image at the top of the article.

This growth is by no means confined to the south-east. Greater Manchester gained 200,000 residents, Birmingham and the West Midlands 160,000 and Leeds and West Yorkshire 120,000 between 2001 and 2011. Growth is primarily in densifying city centres, and is strongly connected to employment change, as the map above shows.

Growth industries, such as business services, ICT and creative industries are increasingly attracted to vibrant high-density centres. Northern cities are competing to attract these knowledge economy sectors and the hierarchy of urban business centres is evolving, with larger cities taking the lead.

The revival of city centres also has important travel sustainability consequences. Higher urban densities can support public transport systems, and encourage walking and cycling.

But public transport requires substantial planning and investment, and there are startling inequalities in infrastructure across the UK. London can boast nearly 50% commuting by public transport, compared to Greater Manchester and the West Midlands which barely manage 15%, and Merseyside and Tyne and Wear at 20%.

While building a London-style underground system in every city is clearly unrealistic, much can be achieved with more modest investment. Edinburgh for example has achieved 35% public transport commuting through a well-planned and publicly owned bus network.

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LuminoCity: new interactive map tool sheds light on British cities