Across the public sector, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis are increasingly ubiquitous when making decisions involving people and places. However, historically GIS has not been prevalently applied to the various types of impact assessment. As such, this paper presents findings from a survey conducted in 2011 of 100 local authorities in England to examine how embedded GIS, spatial analysis and visualisation practices are to the process of conducting impact assessments. The results show that despite obvious advantages of applying GIS in these processes, applications employing basic techniques are at best sporadic, and where advanced methods are implemented, these in almost all instances are conducted by external contractors, thus illustrating a significant GIS under capacity within the sampled local authorities studied.

Riddlesden, D., A.D. Singleton, and T. B. Fischer. 2012. “A Survey of the Use of Geographic Information Systems in English Local Authority Impact Assessments.” Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management 14 (01): 1250006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S1464333212500068.

Geography is not a compulsory subject of study beyond the age of 14 in English schools and this has had an impact on both absolute and relative participation rates over recent years. Geodemographic analysis reveals that pupils domiciled within more affluent and less ethnically diverse areas record the highest rates of participation and attainment in GCSE Geography, and that the stratified patterns of participation have increased between 2005 and 2009. Within this period, those schools that have stopped supplying successful GCSE Geography entries by 2009 were found to have overall low aggregate attainment and to draw pupils from more deprived areas. The profile of schools visited by the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) (RGS-IBG) Ambassador Scheme was also considered to assess the extent that the schools visited are representative of pupils who are most at risk of non-participation.

Singleton, A.D. 2012. “The Geodemographics of Access and Participation in Geography.” The Geographical Journal 178 (3): 216–229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4959.2012.00467.x.

It is fairly clear from the duration between this and my last post that various other things have been getting in the way of updates. Anyway, I shall try and post a few updates on news and things I have been working on recently in the coming weeks befo…

This commentary sets out an agenda for researching the riots that swept through English cities in 2011, and for exploring the broader issues raised by these events. Drawing inspiration from groundbreaking social and cultural geographies of the 1981 riots, and also from mappings and quantitative studies of the more recent disturbances, this paper sets out a framework for researching the riots, and underlines the importance of doing so. It concludes that while riots are traumatic experiences for many, they can also be opportunities, which effective research can help to realise, recasting these events as catalysts for change.

Phillips, Richard, Diane Frost, and A.D. Singleton. 2012. “Researching the Riots.” The Geographical Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4959.2012.00463.x.

Something else which has been keeping me busy of late is organising GISRUK 2013 which we are hosting next April at the Univerity of Liverpool.

The deadline is approaching – 15th November; so still time to submit a paper!

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Data experts have used Twitter to map out the diverse range of languages spoken by people in London.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Data experts have used Twitter to map out the diverse range of languages spoken by people in London.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Urban life Open-air computers  The EconomistIN 1995 GEORGE GILDER, an American writer, declared that “cities are leftover baggage from the industrial era.” Electronic communications would become so …

Open-air computers – Urban life  The EconomistIN 1995 GEORGE GILDER, an American writer, declared that “cities are leftover baggage from the industrial era.” Electronic communications would become so …

Open-air computers  The EconomistIN 1995 GEORGE GILDER, an American writer, declared that “cities are leftover baggage from the industrial era.” Electronic communications would become so …

Smart cities: Bridging physical and digitalPhys.OrgResearchers at the Centre for Spatial Analysis and Policy, University of Leeds, and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, have been developing a range of high-technology …

Twitter Map Shows London's Top 10 LanguagesLBC 97.3The map, inspired by a one by self-named "map geek" Eric Fischer, was compiled for the social network site by James Cheshire, a lecturer at University College London's Centre for Adva…

Twitter Map Shows London's Top 10 LanguagesSky NewsThe map, inspired by a one by self-named "map geek" Eric Fischer, was compiled for the social network site by James Cheshire, a lecturer at University College London's Centre for Adva…

A map using information from London’s twitter community shows the true diversity of the UK’s capital city.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

A map using information from London’s twitter community shows the true diversity of the UK’s capital city.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Using Twitter, a pair of London-based academics have created a map of the city’s linguistic diversity.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Using Twitter, a pair of London-based academics have created a map of the city’s linguistic diversity.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Academics have used Twitter to create a map showing London’s linguistic diversity.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Academics have used Twitter to create a map showing London’s linguistic diversity.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Academics have used Twitter to create a map showing London’s linguistic diversity.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

How diverse is London? A map of 3.3m tweets shows the most popular languages used for tweeting and where they are used in the city.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

How diverse is London? A map of 3.3m tweets shows the most popular languages used for tweeting and where they are used in the city.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Smart cities: Bridging Physical and DigitalCisionWire (press release)Researchers at the Centre for Spatial Analysis and Policy, University of Leeds, and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, have been developing a range o…

IN 1995 GEORGE GILDER, an American writer, declared that “cities are leftover baggage from the industrial era.” Electronic communications would become so easy…See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

IN 1995 GEORGE GILDER, an American writer, declared that “cities are leftover baggage from the industrial era.” Electronic communications would become so easy…See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

This colour-coded graphic pinpoints the location and language of tweets sent from the British capital and shows how linguistic groups are clustered in the city’s various districts.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

This colour-coded graphic pinpoints the location and language of tweets sent from the British capital and shows how linguistic groups are clustered in the city’s various districts.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

It’s a networking city hailed as a global village. And now London’s diversity has been mapped, courtesy of Twitter.See it on Scoop.it, via Spatial Analysis

Taalkaart van Londen via tweetsTwittermaniaVoor hun project onderzochten Ed Manley en James Cheshire van UCL's Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) de tweets die in en rond Londen verstuurd werden tijdens de Olympische Spelen afgelopen zomer…

Twitter Map Shows London's LanguagesLondonistIt was put together by Ed Manley and James Cheshire at UCL's Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) using tweets collected during the Olympic period this summer. In some cases, the clusters are …

Twitter Map Shows London’s Languages  LondonistThis map shows the locations of 3.3 million geolocated tweets in the London area during the summer of 2012. That’s impressive in its own right, but the points …