Geographic and place-based data

Last modified: 16 Oct 2026

UK LLC provides access to geographic and place-based datasets for research in the TRE.

1. Introduction

The Available Linkages page outlines which LPS permit linkage of their participants to each of the available place-based datasets.

Geographic data, also known as geospatial or spatial data, refers to any information that is linked to a specific location. Examples of geographic data include coordinates of amenities, addresses, administrative boundaries, and layered datasets showing features such as elevation or land use.

Place-based data, meanwhile, refers to data about the social, economic, environmental, or built characteristics of a location or area. While place-based data is usually linked to geography, its primary purpose is to help understand and analyse the conditions and context of a place. Examples include demographic statistics, deprivation indices, community assets, environmental exposures, and area-level health indicators.

UK LLC maintains encrypted versions of geographic data, including addresses and administrative boundary identifiers, which are used to link participants to place-based datasets. These place-based datasets include measures of air pollution, deprivation, and public transport accessibility, among other environmental and neighbourhood characteristics.

2. Summary

• Place-based data are linked using participant address histories or area-level indicators (such as LSOAs).

• Researchers never have access to participant addresses. Within the UK LLC TRE, only high-level geographies (for example, English region or devolved nation) are visible, while finer geographic identifiers are encrypted to protect confidentiality.

• Not all Longitudinal Population Studies (LPS) permit linkage to the same place-based datasets. Before developing your project, check the Available Linkages page to confirm which datasets can be linked for the studies you wish to use.

3. Overview of Geographic and Place-based datasets

Dataset	Dataset name	Domain	Years available in TRE
AHAH	Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards (AHAH)	Environmental	2022
met_office	Met Office climate data	Environmental	2010-2024
greenspace	Greenspace	Environmental	2018
EPC	Energy Performance Certificates	Environmental	Coming in 2027
hades_air_pollution	Air pollution NOx, NO2 and O3	Environmental	2018-2020
air_pollution_no2_pm25	Air pollution NO2 & PM2.5	Environmental	2010-2019
traffic_noise	Noise pollution	Environmental	2013
imd	Index of Multiple Deprivation	Population	2011
townsend	Townsend Index	Population	2011
public_transport	Public Transport Accessibility Indicators	Mobility	2021

4. Research Uses and Considerations

Watch this short video for an introduction to place-based data at UK LLC, including how datasets are linked, governed and can be used for research.