Heat Map, Goldsmith Street
How can you demonstrate your housing schemes work for social interaction and play?
The answer is - 'Social Heat Mapping'. Our tried-and-tested, empirical, objective system maps your housing scheme AND scores it against dozens of others.
ZCD's Social Heat Mapping is unique and grounded in over ten years of rigorous and published research. We apply it to large scale as well as infill projects, built or unbuilt, working with designers, developers, housing associations and local authorities. This system can help you to understand how successful places meet your social impact objectives, are sustainable and can support healthy lives.
Heat mapping is a science for housing, it can be used to improve early stage designs, reflect on previous proposals, understand local neighbouring context and even to set benchmarks for local plans, development plans and masterplans.
We hold the Social Heat Mapping data for dozens of schemes and we want to grow this fast - to do that, we have set a target to reach 100 in the next six months.
If you would like to take part, we are offering at cost Social Heat Mapping until we reach 100, after which a full rate will apply. There is even a 10% discount for 3 or more schemes, to help us get there even faster!
To register your interest and get a quick quote please fill out the form by pressing the button below.
How to get your score
We start by creating a heat map of your development site which will reveal the relationship between homes and external spaces.
Each space is scored according to four principles, see our map above. When a space scores well across all four, it appears as a ‘warm’ colour on a map. These warm, so-called ‘doorstep spaces’, will work well for social interaction and play. They will be spaces that the community will enjoy spending time in and can support healthy lives.
‘Cool’ spaces are difficult for the community to use, for children to be able to play out in and can even be the source of anti social behaviour and crime.
The ‘social space’ % score is calculated by the proportion of highest scoring or ‘warm’ areas, within the development area. Once you have this score you can see how it sits on a scatter graph alongside other developments of similar densities.
24%
Scatter graph example: Goldsmith Street
How else does this help us?
National policy and design guidance has embedded our research. The NPPF and the Design and Placemaking PPG now require external spaces on housing developments to support play and social interaction. The mapping system is the clearest way to demonstrate compliance.
But beyond policy, we work with housing providers, development and design teams who want to achieve good social outcomes on their projects, who want to make places that people choose to live in and stay. We know that housing layouts that are well designed benefit children and young people and spaces that are well used by children are well used by adults too.
Extra use
of the heat-maps as an engagement tool
Our mapping system is underpinned by extensive community engagement, much of it intergenerational. The mapping language is straightforward and accessible for residents of all ages and provides a sound way for navigating some of the more thorny issues of development.
These maps can also help support community engagement, shifting the conversation away from parking into an outcomes approach that allows genuine conversations and buy in from the community.
Our mapping provides the basis for a common language for interrogating layouts, engaging with your community and meeting planning objectives.