Physical & Land Use Planning
Plans and policy that guide land use, settlement growth and investment.
Turn location and research into useful evidence
A map is useful when it helps answer a real question: where are the service gaps, which sites face constraints, how do settlement conditions differ, or what should a programme prioritise? We start with the decision you need to make and build the spatial or research brief around it.
Our work supports planning authorities, institutions, developers and programme teams. The scope can range from organising existing spatial data to a defined analytical study or a socio-economic baseline with agreed field research.
Two connected ways to build the evidence
GIS Mapping & Spatial Analytics
Combine datasets, prepare thematic maps and analyse spatial patterns, access, land use or site constraints. Modules are selected for the brief, with data sources, accuracy and output formats agreed at the start.
Socio-Economic & Spatial Baseline Studies
Understand the people, livelihoods, housing and settlement conditions behind a planning or programme decision. Research questions guide the indicators, target groups, sampling, engagement and spatial analysis commissioned.
These services can work together: a baseline explains conditions and needs, while spatial analysis shows where they occur and how they relate. Each module remains visible in the scope so that the client knows what evidence will be produced.
Evidence and deliverables
- Land and settlement patterns: existing land use, growth, development constraints and changes over time where suitable data exists.
- Access and coverage: the distribution of facilities, networks and populations, with assumptions about distance or travel made explicit.
- Social and economic conditions: livelihoods, informal economies, housing demand, inclusion or vulnerability topics agreed for the research.
- Priorities and options: comparisons against defined criteria, with uncertainty and information gaps recorded alongside the findings.
Depending on the instruction, the handover can include thematic maps, documented datasets, agreed analyses, a baseline report, visualisations and a concise explanation of the findings. The proposal names the file formats, coordinate reference system, metadata, permitted uses and any training or handover session included.
We distinguish source data from derived analysis and presentation outputs. This helps a technical team update the work and helps a general reader understand what a result means, where it came from and what it cannot establish.
Our analytical process
Frame the decision.
Agree the study area, research questions, intended audience and outputs.
Review the sources.
Assess coverage, age, accuracy, permissions and gaps in existing datasets and studies.
Collect and analyse.
Undertake the commissioned research or spatial methods, recording assumptions and quality checks.
Interpret and hand over.
Explain the findings, limitations and decision implications, then deliver the agreed files and documentation.
Preparing your project brief
Study area and decision
Provide the study boundary and the question you need the evidence to answer.
Available data and studies
Share existing datasets, previous studies and any source permissions or restrictions.
Required outputs
Identify the intended audience, file formats, coordinate systems, accuracy needs and software constraints.
Research and field access
Describe the population or groups of interest and any field access arrangements.
You do not need a complete document pack to begin. We can identify the information gaps and agree what is needed for the brief.
Technical and commissioning context
Data quality determines what analysis can support. A small-scale dataset may be useful for a regional overview while being unsuitable for a parcel-level decision. We agree the required resolution and validation approach, record source dates and explain uncertainty in the outputs.
A GIS map does not replace a licensed cadastral survey or establish legal ownership. Where survey verification, specialised engineering or formal legal advice is needed, those responsibilities are identified separately. Personal or restricted research data is handled according to the agreed collection, access and handover arrangements.
Frequently asked questions
Discuss your project
Share the location, the decision and the information already available. Discuss your mapping or research brief →