Research methods
UBDC is committed to openness and transparency in our work, sharing and explaining our methodologies. We are also helping to develop better methods for collecting and analysing smart data.
Urban Sensing
Sensing technologies and advanced analytical methodologies enable us to collect and process higher quality smart datasets to better inform urban policies.
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Participatory Analytics
With our global partners - academics, local and national governments, disaster risk resilience organisations, and grassroot communities - we are committed to participatory approaches in our research to address social inequalities and deliver equitable and sustainable outcomes.
Impact stories
How do solar panels affect property prices in the UK?
Researchers from Swansea and Birmingham universities have used Zoopla Property data, held by UBDC, to estimate the returns to solar panels in the UK housing market.
Air quality has improved in Low Emission Zones
New research exploring the effects of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Glasgow city centre has found that while traffic flow is largely unchanged, air quality has improved.
£1m investment pledged in response to Hot Homes project
Responding directly to the issues highlighted in our Hot Homes project - UBDC’s innovative collaboration with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism - Southwark Council has pledged £1m to protect their most vulnerable dwellings from the worst impacts of climate change.
Zoopla data analysis cited by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer
The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer cited Institute of Fiscal Studies analysis of Zoopla data - held under licence by the Urban Big Data Centre - as influencing his decision-making in his 2023 Autumn Statement.
Shaping housing policy with Zoopla data analysis
Analysis of Zoopla data, held under licence by the Urban Big Data Centre, has informed two significant projects focusing on homelessness and housing requirements for lower-income households.
Waterproofing Data Project - Full report and resources
The ESRC Celebrating Impact Award winning, Waterproofing Data project engaged local people from marginalised communities, including school children and the elderly, to map flood prone areas and generate new data on past and present flood events.
Using spare CCTV to monitor activity on city streets
The Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC) is working closely with Glasgow City Council (GCC) to develop innovative methods for monitoring activity on Glasgow’s streets using excess on the city’s extensive CCTV network.
Workforce challenges in Adult Social Care
Researchers shed light on workforce challenges in adult social care, using an expansive dataset held by UBDC looking at workforce challenges in adult social care.
How to 'REPAIR' our high streets
Researchers from UBDC and the Universities of Glasgow, Sheffield and UCL conducted a mixed method study called Real Estate, Place Adaptation and Innovation within an integrated Retailing system.
Scottish Local Government during COVID-19: Data Needs, Capabilities, and Uses
The Urban Big Data Centre carried out an in-depth analysis of Scottish local government’s data engagement between autumn 2020 and spring 2021.
Older people and sedentary behaviour: what’s the connection with the environment?
UBDC assisted with a research project contrasting the relationships between sedentary behaviour measures on the one hand and neighbourhood measures on the other.
Using weather data to understand usage of Glasgow’s cycle hire scheme
The Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH) approached UBDC for help with a report on active, sustainable travel that the GCPH was preparing on Glasgow City Council’s cycle hire scheme.
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