Urban Big Data Centre
The Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC) is a research centre and national data service jointly funded by the UKRI-ESRC and the University of Glasgow. The Centre promotes the use of big data and innovative research methods to improve social, economic and environmental well-being in cities.
UBDC publishes world-leading research in the social sciences and other disciplines that is distinguished by its critical engagement with debates about new forms of data (big data) and data-driven urban analytics. The Centre’s wide-ranging research topics include education and skills, housing and neighbourhoods, transport and infrastructure, and urban governance.
The Centre’s data service enhances the quality and accessibility of urban big data, and the methods for urban analytics, supporting a wide range of applications and users.
UBDC works closely with a wide range of government, industry and third sector partners to understand the challenges they face and to identify opportunities for the work of the Centre to influence policy and practice.
UBDC is also producing the next generation of social researchers, equipped with high-level skills and knowledge in data science alongside understandings of how cities work grounded in the social sciences. Alongside MSc programmes and PhD opportunities, the Centre’s capacity-building activities include training sessions and toolkits as well as public events such as workshops and seminars.
Through both its research and data service, UBDC delivers a wide range of positive impacts on society, the economy and the environment.
