The power of data visualisation

Creative Industries sector lead, Caroline Parkinson explains how data innovation is being combined with leading-edge interactive design to show our cities in a new light

In November 2018, the City of Edinburgh Council hosted the Eurocities network for Europe’s mayors and political leaders to address key urban challenges faced by cities in Europe. Edinburgh has been a member of the network since 1991. This annual high-profile event is usually attended by around 400-500 delegates, including representatives from city authorities.

As part of the reception event hosted by the Edinburgh International Festival, the City Council and the DDI programme joint-commissioned an interactive installation ‘Collective Cohesion’ by Edinburgh-based design agency Ray Interactive alongwith a visualisation of the European Cultural Cities Monitor data tool for delegates to engage with and explore.

Delegates enjoyed experimenting with the tool and we have asked Ray Interactive to adapt it to show what is possible with data visualisation and as a helpful snapshot of the current European data for use by the creative and cultural sectors.

Click here to see the demonstration and learn more about cities across Europe.

• The demonstration opens with a random selection of cities with pre-selected characteristics to create an initial visual but you can select whichever cities and characteristics you are interested in researching.
• To select cities, you can click sites on the map or click on the List tab at the top and select European cities from the list.
• To select characteristics, simply click the current list 1-5 and select the categories you are interested in comparing.
• The visualisation can be represented in three forms using the centre tabs. The ‘?’ icon will open and guide and some tips.

We hope you find it a useful and engaging way to interact with data and gain insights.