title: “UK Wellbeing Infrastructure Spine (UK-WIS)” output: html_document ———————

Overview

This project builds a reproducible UK small-area data spine that links multiple domains of place-based infrastructure and environment to a common geographic unit.

The core unit is area11, which combines:

The term “area11” refers to the harmonised geographic unit underpinning UK-WIS, combining LSOA 2011 geographies in England and Wales with Data Zone 2011 geographies in Scotland.

These are harmonised into a single spine:

final/area11_master_features.csv

The aim is to create a modular, extensible dataset that can support:

Current release

Version: v1 (15 June 2026)

Status: Stable release

The current release contains:

Quality control status:

Structure of the data spine

The spine is built using a modular pipeline:

Each domain is processed independently and then joined to the master dataset:

final/area11_master_features.csv

This approach allows domains to be added, removed, updated, or rebuilt without affecting the wider system.

Domains currently included

Transport (NaPTAN)

Source:

  • NaPTAN Stops dataset (active stops only)

Coverage:

  • Full Great Britain coverage
  • No structural missingness

Key variables:

  • transport_stops_n
  • transport_stops_density_per_km2
  • transport_stops_dist_nearest_m
  • transport_bus_n
  • transport_rail_n
  • transport_metro_tram_n
  • transport_ferry_n
  • transport_air_n
  • transport_has_any_stop

Notes:

  • Represents access to public transport infrastructure
  • Distances are calculated from an internal area11 representative point to the nearest stop
  • Density measures are standardised by area11 area (km²)

Greenspace (OS Open Greenspace)

Source:

  • OS Open Greenspace greenspace_site polygons

Coverage:

  • Full Great Britain coverage
  • No structural missingness

Key variables:

  • greenspace_n
  • greenspace_area_total_km2
  • greenspace_area_prop
  • greenspace_area_prop_capped
  • greenspace_density_per_km2
  • greenspace_dist_nearest_m
  • greenspace_has_any

Notes:

  • Based on polygon intersection with area11 units
  • greenspace_area_prop may exceed 1 due to overlapping polygons
  • greenspace_area_prop_capped provides an interpretable version constrained to 0–1

Cultural infrastructure (Mapping Museums)

Source:

  • Mapping Museums dataset

Coverage:

  • Great Britain coverage where museum records have usable coordinates
  • No structural missingness

Key variables:

  • culture_museums_n
  • culture_museums_density_per_km2
  • culture_museums_dist_nearest_m
  • culture_museums_has_any
  • culture_museums_source_mapping_museums
  • culture_museums_structural_missing

Notes:

  • Represents museum infrastructure
  • Built using a point-based feature workflow
  • Counts represent museum locations within each area11 unit
  • Distances are calculated from an internal area11 representative point to the nearest museum

Libraries

Source:

  • English Public Libraries Location Dataset (2024)

Coverage:

  • England only
  • Scotland and Wales treated as structural missing

Key variables:

  • libraries_n
  • libraries_density_per_km2
  • libraries_dist_nearest_m
  • libraries_source_coverage
  • libraries_count_interpretation

Notes:

  • Structural missingness is retained explicitly
  • Missing values represent absence of source coverage rather than absence of libraries
  • Scotland and Wales account for 8,885 structurally missing area11 units (21.3% of the release)

Domains under development

Access amenities (ONS)

Source:

  • ONS Access to Amenities datasets
  • Multiple LAD-level workbooks

Coverage:

  • England and Wales only
  • LAD-level only
  • Scotland currently treated as structural missing

Current status:

  • Raw data available
  • Not yet linked to the master dataset

Potential variables:

  • access_community_facilities_total_n
  • access_community_facilities_per_100k
  • access_community_facilities_area_total_km2
  • access_community_facilities_area_per_100k

Notes:

  • Administrative contextual indicators
  • Values would be broadcast from LAD to constituent area11 units
  • Suppressed values should be treated as missing rather than zero
  • Scotland should remain structural missing unless an equivalent source is identified

Master dataset

The canonical dataset is:

final/area11_master_features.csv

Contains:

Release statistics:

Analysis extracts

Country-specific analysis extracts are generated from the UK-wide master dataset.

Expected outputs:

Notes:

Publication outputs

Release outputs include:

Publication figures:

Supporting documentation

The following files are generated automatically:

These provide:

Design principles

Known limitations

Future development

Potential future additions include:

New domains can be incorporated without modifying the existing spine architecture.

Project status

Release status: v1 frozen (15 June 2026)

Completed:

Current coverage:

The area11 spine is now suitable for: