Interactive web mapping of geodemographics through user-specified regionalisations

The analysis of spatial distributions is possible using a broad spectrum of new and existing digital data sources. Challenges can arise with respect to use of areal units that are both appropriate and compatible. In addition, regional statistics are prone to scale and aggregation effects that manifest the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). This paper introduces a web mapping system that allows users to experiment with standard and bespoke zonal schemes in the geodemographic analysis of regional patterns. We describe the architecture and design of the platform and its associated data processing techniques before demonstrating its value through user case scenarios. Using the segregation index as an example, we demonstrate how the use of interactive maps can assist in revealing the scale-dependent nature of the index. Our web mapping system can be employed to help geography students, policymakers and researchers better understand the underlying geodemographic structure of functional regions

Urban Morphology and Residential Differentiation across Great Britain, 1881-1901

The nineteenth century saw rapid urbanization and dramatic social change in Great Britain, some of which can now be viewed at national scales for the first time through linkage of georeferenced digital historical data to contemporary and historical framework data. Here, we attempt to georeference every individual address record from the 1881, 1891, and 1901 censuses for Great Britain and to define the fast-growing historical street networks and residential geographies of every urban settlement. We next devise a scale-free historical geodemographic classification using variables common to these three censuses and assign cluster group characteristics to every urban street segment. We also link the evolution of the urban street morphology with changes in residential differentiation and the geodemographic assignments over the twenty-year study period. The results of this intensive data processing make it possible to chart the development of urban residential areas across Great Britain and bring focus to the changing social structures of the cities. We examine these changes with examples drawn from the entire British urban settlement system. Our conclusions discuss the implications of this extensive analysis for improved understanding of the evolution of Great Britain’s urban system. 19世纪的英国, 经历了快速城市化和剧烈社会变革。结合地理定位的数字历史数据、当代和历史框架数据, 本文首次在全国尺度上看到这种变化的一部分。对1881年、1891年和1901年英国人口普查中每个地址进行地理定位, 定义了每个城市定居点的快速发展的历史街道网络和居住地理。然后, 利用三次人口普查的共同变量, 设计了一个无尺度的历史地理人口分类, 并给每个城市路段赋予聚类组特征。本文还把城市街道形态的演变, 与20年间居住分化和地理人口分配的变化相联系起来。这种精细化数据处理的结果, 使得绘制整个英国城市居住区的发展成为可能, 从而关注不断变化的城市社会结构。对这些变化的讨论, 是基于遍及整个英国的城市居住体系的若干案例。本文结论部分, 讨论了这种分析对于更好地理解英国城市体系演变的意义。 En el siglo XIX, Gran Bretaña experimentó rápida urbanización y un cambio social dramático, cosas que ahora pueden ser apreciadas por primera vez a escala nacional, a través del nexo con datos digitales históricos georreferenciados a un marco de datos contemporáneos e históricos. Aquí intentamos georreferenciar cada registro de dirección individual a partir de los censos de 1881, 1891 y 1901 para Gran Bretaña, y definir las redes históricas de calles en rápida expansión y las geografías residenciales de cada asentamiento urbano. Luego diseñamos una clasificación geodemográfica histórica sin escala usando variables comunes de estos tres censos y asignamos las características grupales de aglomeración a cada segmento de calle urbano. También ligamos la evolución de la morfología callejera urbana con los cambios en diferenciación residencial y las asignaciones geodemográficas a lo largo del período de estudio de veinte años. Los resultados de este procesamiento intensivo de datos permiten trazar el desarrollo de áreas residenciales urbanas a través de Gran Bretaña y centrar la atención sobre las cambiantes estructuras sociales de las ciudades. Examinamos esos cambios con ejemplos sacados de todo el sistema británico de asentamientos urbanos. Nuestras conclusiones discuten las implicaciones de este análisis extensivo para mejorar el entendimiento de la evolución del sistema urbano de la Gran Bretaña

Family Names, City Size Distributions and Residential Differentiation in Great Britain, 1881-1901

Cities have specialised in particular urban functions throughout history, with consequential implications for urban and regional patterns of economic and social change. This specialisation takes place within overall national city size distributions and is manifest in different but often similarly variegated residential structures. Here we develop a novel and consistent methodological approach for measuring macro-scale city size and micro-scale residential differentiation using individual digital census records for the period 1881–1901. The use of family names and neighbourhood classification of dominant economic and social roles makes it possible to relate the changing city size distribution in Great Britain to patterns of urban growth and residential differentiation within urban areas. Together, we provide an integrated and consistent methodology that links the classification of all major urban area growth in Great Britain to attendant intra-urban geodemographic changes in urban residential structures. We suggest ways in which this manifests social and economic change across the settlement system for both new and long-established residents

The geography of intergenerational social mobility in Britain

Empirical analysis of social mobility is typically framed by outcomes recorded for only a single, recent generation, ignoring intergenerational preconditions and historical conferment of opportunity. We use the detailed geography of relative deprivation (hardship) to demonstrate that different family groups today experience different intergenerational outcomes and that there is a distinct Great Britain-wide geography to these inequalities. We trace the evolution of these inequalities back in time by coupling family group level data for the entire Victorian population with a present day population-wide consumer register. Further geographical linkage to neighbourhood deprivation data allows us to chart the different social mobility outcomes experienced by every one of the 13,378 long-established family groups. We identify clear and enduring regional divides in England and Scotland. In substantive terms, use of family names and new historical digital census resources are central to recognising that geography is pivotal to understanding intergenerational inequalities

Geo-Referencing and Mapping 1901 Census Addresses for England and Wales

Geocoding historical addresses is a primary yet nontrivial application of spatial analysis in historical geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial humanities. We demonstrate our endeavours of geo-referencing and visualising historical census addresses in England and Wales, by matching the residential addresses to a historical gazetteer and a contemporary address database of Britain. The results indicate that it is feasible to standardise and geocode a large share of unique addresses from the historical database. The historical gazetteer and the modern address registers are two complementary data assets that can be used to geo-reference both well-formatted addresses in urban areas and non-standard addresses such as place names or building names in rural areas. The geo-referenced historical census data open up new opportunities for a broad spectrum of geo-demographic research on historical population characteristics at the micro level in England and Wales

Integrating New Measures of Retail Unit Attractiveness into Spatial Interaction Models

This paper proposes the use of urban analytics to predict the attractiveness of a retail unit in dense urban environments. Traditional attractiveness measures (e.g. retail unit size and store frontage) are compared against urban integration measures (e.g. reach and betweenness) to explore their predictive power in estimating the magnitudes of consumer flows. The study concludes that using urban centrality metrics, such as betweenness, as attractiveness measure has a higher positive effect on predicting footfall compared to traditional measures

Data-driven urban management: Mapping the landscape

Big data analytics and artificial intelligence, paired with blockchain technology, the Internet of Things, and other emerging technologies, are poised to revolutionise urban management. With massive amounts of data collected from citizens, devices, and traditional sources such as routine and well-established censuses, urban areas across the world have – for the first time in history – the opportunity to monitor and manage their urban infrastructure in real-time. This simultaneously provides previously unimaginable opportunities to shape the future of cities, but also gives rise to new ethical challenges. This paper provides a transdisciplinary synthesis of the developments, opportunities, and challenges for urban management and planning under this ongoing ‘digital revolution’ to provide a reference point for the largely fragmented research efforts and policy practice in this area. We consider both top-down systems engineering approaches and the bottom-up emergent approaches to coordination of different systems and functions, their implications for the existing physical and institutional constraints on the built environment and various planning practices, as well as the social and ethical considerations associated with this transformation from non-digital urban management to data-driven urban management