These maps come from a short scoping study undertaken jointly by NERIP and Culture North East.
Culture North East has an interest in the flows of visitors to cultural sites in the region. One preliminary requirement for studying these is detailed information on the locations of such sites. Although it would be possible to assemble such a dataset by hand, this would be a time-consuming process. An alternative approach is to make use of a commercial data source. As NERIP has access to the Ordnance Survey "Points of Interest" product – a wide ranging business and feature dataset containing over 14,000 features in the region – it was decided to pilot this approach.
Every feature in Points of Interest is given a detailed classification. This classification was used to select out an initial set of records, which was checked by hand and then further filtered. Finally, the selected records were re-grouped into four categories and mapped.
The result is a "first look" at the geography of cultural sites across the region. The maps show a crude count of items – no attempt is made to give some features more weight than others. The four categories used are somewhat arbitrary, but are adequate for an initial demonstration.
Feature categories:
- Libraries
- Outdoor Recreation Sites (e.g. parks, gardens and nature reserves)
- Historical / Cultural Attractions (e.g. museums, art galleries, cinemas, preserved railways)
- Historical Sites (e.g. archaeological sites, battlefields and historic buildings)