Coastal settlement typology - Scotland 2016 - Level 1

This map layer has been supplied directly by Marine Scotland National Marine Plan interactive. You can obtain additional information about the layer on this page

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This data layer shows the different types of coastal town on the basis of their census based socio-economic and demographic characteristics. This is based on a two-stage cluster analysis of coastal localities (defined as within 2 kilometres of the coast) with populations of greater than 1000 (for reasons of confidentiality).

The Level 1 Typology was created using data drawn from 15 variables of the demographic, socio-economic, health and mobility indicators of the 2011 Scottish Census (e.g. age, household composition, self-rated health, industry, deprivation indicator, distance to work).

This yielded five different groups:

  1. Military families
  2. Peripheral fishing and port towns
  3. Industrial roots
  4. Historic university
  5. Linked later-life localities

146 of 149 identified localities are made up of the three main groups:  “Peripheral Port and Fishing Towns,” “Industrial roots,” and “Linked Later‐life localities". The two outlying groups “Military Families” and “Historic University Town” together account for the remaining three localities.

The labels given to these groups are data driven descriptions which coincide predominantly with economic narratives explaining Scotland's coastal population.  

The West Highlands, the North Coast, and Islands communities feature prominently within Peripheral Fishing and Port towns; the high concentration of Industrial Roots around the central belt; and the Linked Later‐life Localities coalesce around Scotland's four main cities: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

GIS Data Type: 
Web Service Information: 
Base WMS Address: http://msmap1.atkinsgeospatial.com/geoserver/ows/nmp?
Layer name:nmp:Coastal_settlement_typology_Level_1
Does this layer display time aware features: 
No
Data Provider: 
Usage limitations: 
No limitations on access, however recognition of source via citation from "Duffy, P. D., and T. A. Stojanovic (2018) The Potential for Assemblage Thinking in Population Geography: Assembling Population, Space and Place. Population, Space and Place 24 (3) e2097. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2097  " should be used at all times.

This Map source is referenced by the following pages: