Scottish Local Council Electoral Wards – General, Geographic & Electoral Knowledge Atlas (30 Sep 2019)
- September 30, 2019
There are 354 Electoral Wards in Scotland’s 32 Local Councils, to which 3 or 4 local councillors are elected every 5 years (the last Scottish National Local Election was 4th May 2017). Obviously this is a political process with an unpredictable outcome, but this map is about connecting the general, geographic & electoral knowledge resources about them that remain valid no matter who is currently elected.
So using the Scottish Local Councils General & Geographic Knowledge Atlas (19 Sep 2019) as a base, we have added a knowledge seed branch for all the wards in each council as a whole, with sub-branches for each individual ward. Embedded within each of these is a high resolution official ward boundary map as well as contextual ‘facts & figures’ such as geographic area and population. We have also done some rudementary spatial anaysis using this data and embedded the results for handy reference. Calculations for ‘Area Per Councillor’ or ‘Population Per Councillor’ – at whole council and individual ward level – make for interesting comparison, and as fas we know are not available anywhere else in the public domain.
Collections of sub-branch links to general, geographic & electoral knowledge resources about each individual ward, and the all the wards in each council as a whole, complete this first national local knowledge map of Local Council Electoral Wards in Scotland. It will provide us with a comprehensive & robust visual knowledge framework upon which to build many other maps about the building blocks of Scotland based on ward areas in the future.
Angus McDonald
Scotland The Map Project Director and Knowledge Mappers Founder & CEO
Map
The options to view / download this Scottish Local Council Electoral Wards General & Geographic Knowledge Atlas (30 Sep 2019) map are in the panel below. If you are new to our maps then please browse the Knowledge Map Mini Guide first before viewing / downloading. Further down this page you can also see a summary of the map content, the main features, and some fun facts 😉 we discovered when compiling it. Please provide your feedback, or suggest additional content, in the map comments, and please also share it with your networks. You can also find other maps using the map finder panel, or the map of maps.
View / Download Options
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Download Map As A MindManager (.mmap) File [16.1 MB]
Knowledge Map Mini Guide
Map Summary
Scottish Local Council Electoral Wards – General, Geographic & Electoral Knowledge Atlas (30 Sep 2019)
Description
There are 354 Electoral Wards in Scotland’s 32 Local Councils, to which 3 or 4 local councillors are elected every 5 years (the last Scottish National Local Election was 4th May 2017). Obviously this is a political process with an unpredictable outcome, but this map is about connecting the general, geographic & electoral knowledge resources about them that remain valid no matter who is currently elected.
So using the Scottish Local Councils General & Geographic Knowledge Atlas (19 Sep 2019) as a base, we have added a knowledge seed branch for all the wards in each council as a whole, with sub-branches for each individual ward. Embedded within each of these is a high resolution official ward boundary map as well as contextual ‘facts & figures’ such as geographic area and population. We have also done some rudementary spatial anaysis using this data and embedded the results for handy reference. Calculations for ‘Area Per Councillor’ or ‘Population Per Councillor’ – at whole council and individual ward level – make for interesting comparison, and as fas we know are not available anywhere else in the public domain.
Collections of sub-branch links to general, geographic & electoral knowledge resources about each individual ward, and the all the wards in each council as a whole, complete this first national local knowledge map of Local Council Electoral Wards in Scotland. It will provide us with a comprehensive & robust visual knowledge framework upon which to build many other maps about the building blocks of Scotland based on ward areas in the future.
Version
1.0
'Knowledge Seed' Branches
With embedded features and attached multiple hyperlinks & index marker tags, ‘seed branches’ provide a ‘base level’ of contextual knowledge resources about the subject, which is retained if the seed branch is repurposed / used in other maps in future.
Scottish Local Council Seed Branch
All Local Council Electoral Wards Seed Branch
Individual Electoral Ward Seed Branch
Electoral Ward Knowledge Resource Link Collections
The links to official / definitive / ‘plain old useful’ public domain knowledge resources contained in these branches is the main focus of this map. Each link is attached to a single sub-branch which desctibes what it is, with sub-branches grouped into related collections, such as ‘General Knowledge Resources’ or ‘Geographic Knowledge Resources’. This makes for easier, more ‘thumb friendly’ browsing & knowledge discovery. Sub-branches can easily become ‘seed points’ if users start adding newly new knowledge discovered during their browsing.
**Note – The collections of links to general, geographic & electoral knowledge resources about electoral wards are presented in 2 ‘levels’ – a single, ‘Whole Council’ collection for all the wards in the council as a whole, and collections for each ‘Individual Ward’.**
General Knowledge Resources
Geographic Knowledge Resources
Electoral Knowledge Resources
Changelog
We are continually striving to find further, freely accessible in the public domain definitive / official / plain old useful 🙂 knowledge resources to link to in our maps, as well as keeping the existing links up to date. The changelogs below summarise the actions undertaken to initially create – and subsequently update – this knowledge map.
Map Facts
Here are some of the ‘fun facts’ 😉 about Scotland’s 354 Local Council Electoral Wards that we have discovered (and embedded!) during the process of creating this map…
Geographic Area
Smallest & Largest
Hillhead Ward [Glasgow City Council]
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Ward [Highland Council]
Population (2018 Est)
Smallest & Largest
Lerwick North Ward [Shetland Islands Council]
Southside/Newington Ward [City of Edinburgh Council]
Population Density
Smallest & Largest
North, West and Central Sutherland Ward [Highland Council]
Hillhead Ward [Glasgow City Council]
Borders With Neighbouring Electoral Wards
With respect to land & sea
All Coastal Borders
(ie. 'Islands')
Land & Coastal Borders
(ie. 'Mixed')
All Land Borders
(ie. 'Land-Locked')
Map Features
We take full advantage of MindManager’s many unique ‘information cartography’ features when creating our unique maps so we can pack in 1000’s of ‘bits’ of knowledge into a single, visually structured, intuitive to navigate document that can be easily shared. Here are the main features of this Scottish Local Council Electoral Wards General & Geographic Knowledge Atlas (30 Sep 2019) …
Big Map With 1000's Of Branches & Links And Capacity For Plenty More
With 5,512 knowledge resource links over 4,460 branches, this map is a useful, contextual knowledge resource in it’s own right, as well as being a visually structured index of the best definitive / official / plain old useful knowledge resources available in the public domain about Scotland’s 354 Local Council Electoral Wards. Thanks to MindManager’s unique capabilities it has plenty of spare capacity for further content to be added in the future, or re-purposed as a basis for other maps.
Main Branches Create Robust Visual Framework For 'Seed Branches'
The 1st level branches form the main (‘org-tree’) visual framework within which the map content of interest sits. It is a simple ‘A – Z’ layout, with the 32 Scottish Local Councils arranged alphabetically in 5 columns of approximately equal sizes to pack as much in to a ‘single screen view’ as possible.
Visually Rich 'Knowledge Seed' Branch For Every Scottish Local Council
The 2nd level branches are ‘knowledge seed points’ for each Scottish Local Council, to which links to public domain knowledge resources about them are attached. Visually rich & information dense, they contain the name & official area identifier codes in variably formatted (‘rich’) text – a unique MindManager featue. Visually the combined logo & thumbnail location map image aids user navigation and provides spatial context, whilst the variation in topic shape indicates the status of the borders with neighbouring councils – all coastlal (ie. island), mixed or all land (ie. landlocked). The full list of visual knowledge embedded within this seed topic is given in the map summary above.
Visually Rich 'Knowledge Seed' Branch For All Electoral Wards In The Local Council
The 3rd level branches are ‘knowledge seed points’ for the electoral wards that make up the Local Council, both as a whole and individually. Visually rich & information dense, they contain a good quality thumbnail image (ie. still readable & usable when zoomed in) of the official Local Government Boundary Commission ward overview map to provide spatial context. Embedded data fields – many of them autocalculated and not available elsewhere in the public domain – give geodemographic context. There are also multiple hyperlinks to public domain knowledge resources about the wards as a whole. The full list of knowledge embedded within, and attached to, this seed topic is given in the map summary above.
Whole Council & Individual Ward Knowledge Resource Sub-branch Collections
Knowledge resources about the council’s electoral wards are split into 2 sub-collections at ‘Whole Council’ and ‘Individual’ level.
General, Geographic & Electoral Knowledge Resource Collections For All Wards As A Whole
The Council Electoral Wards as a whole sub-branch collections – each with a single hyperlink to official / definitive / at least practical & useful online knowledge resources – are grouped into related collections for ‘general’, ‘geographic’ and ‘electoral’ knowledge resources. These are starting points for knowledge discovery and subsequent more detailed (‘desktop’) research. (MindManager software users have the advantage of being able to add to these branches as they go). The full list of links in the sub-branch collections attached to this seed branch is given in the map summary above.
Visually Rich 'Knowledge Seed' Branch For Each Of Scotland's 354 Electoral Wards
As for the ‘Local Council’, the seed branches for each individual ward are a visually rich mixture of embedded and attached knowledge. They contain the name & official ward identifier codes in variably formatted (‘rich’) text, a thumbnail location map image aids user navigation and provides spatial context, aided by the variation in topic shape indicating the status of the borders with neighbouring councils – all coastlal (ie. island), mixed or all land (ie. landlocked. The data fields – many of them autocalculated and not available elsewhere in the public domain – provide geodemographic context, supplemented by the topic shape, which indicates the status of the borders with neighbouring councils – all coastlal (ie. island), mixed or all land (ie. landlocked). There are also multiple hyperlinks to the public domain general, geographic & electoral knowledge resources. The full list of knowledge embedded within, and attached to, this seed topic is given in the map summary above.
General, Geographic & Electoral Knowledge Resource Collections For Each Individual Ward
The sub-branch collections for each individual Electoral Ward is the same as those for all wards as a whole – ‘general’, ‘geographic’ and ‘electoral’ knowledge resources. The full list of links in the sub-branch collections attached to this seed branch is given in the map summary above.
Attached Multiple Hyperlinks To Public Domain Knowledge Resources
Seed Branches have multiple hyperlinks attached to them (yet another unique feature of MindManager maps), which link to the best definitive / official / plain old useful knowledge resources available in the public domain about the subject. The ‘definable link text’ gives clarty as to the resource being linked to (which can be very variable if left to the default). As well as increasing the amount of knowledge that can be ‘squeezed’ into a map without increasing the ‘visual clutter’ of additional branches, it means these links can be retained if the seed branches are used in other maps, or this map is re-purposed. The full list of multiple knowledge resource hyperlinks attached to all the seed topics in this map is given in the map summary above.
Index Marker Tag Groups Enable 'Geo Intelligent' & Other Map Filtering
Branches in the map may be tagged with one or more ‘index markers’ from one or more ‘marker groups’. These enable intelligent map filtering and quick navigation. Many of the tags are ‘geographic’ in nature such that branches are tagged with ‘where’ they are – eg. administrative or electoral areas. This gives the map in-built ‘spatial intelligence’ and the ability to be ‘geo-filtered’. (MindManager software users can copy and paste any of the marker groups in any other maps). The full list of index marker tags attached to all the seed topics in this map is given in the map summary above.
Embedded Data Elements Provide Additional Contextual Knowledge
Data features embedded within seed branches – like spreadsheets, charts & data fields (another unique MindManager feature) – provide another ‘channel’ of knowlegde that adds context to the more detailed knowledge contained in the public domain resources linked to in the map. Just like in a normal spreadsheet, some of the data field values may be ‘auto-calculated’ from the others using formulae, creating data not found elsewhere in the public domain. They can also be used to ‘conditionally format’ the map eg. colouring the branches based on a particular data value (the equivelant of ‘thematic mapping’ in GIS). The full list of data embedded within all the seed topics in this map is given in the map summary above.
Map Legend Branch Describes Each Topic 'Type' With Links To Further Information
Every map needs to have a legend that explains the cartographic structure, colours and symbology used. The ‘Map Legend’ branch describes the sub-components of each ‘type’ of map branch, with links to further knowledge resources where necessary.
'Contributing Online Knowledge-bases Branch' With Links To Further Information
We hunt down and assess many official / definitive / at least practical & useful online knowledge resources in the process of creating our maps. The ‘Contributing Online Knowledge-bases’ branch has links to all the ones that are actually linked to in the main map content, as well as some others that are a good source of general knowledge about the subject. It is a frustrating fact of life that some resources are organised better than others, and not all are ‘linkable to’ at the individual ‘building block’ level and so can’t be included in seed branches.
Built-in Topic Styles Enable Quick Visual Reformatting
The visual formatting of all the map elements is controlled via our structured system of topic styles, which makes for easier alteration ‘on the hoof’ and therefore quicker map building. (MindManager software users can change the appearance of the whole map with just a few clicks eg. to match their own ‘in-house’ style & branding.)
To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.
Tae ken that we ken whit we ken, and tae ken that we dinnae ken whit we dinnae ken, that's whit it's aw aboot, ye ken?
And whilst we're aboot it, tae ken where the hell ye get haud of whit ye need to ken, when ye need to ken it, if ye dinnae ken it awready?
These knowledge maps show the building blocks of Scotland as they exist today, but they can also be used to strategically think about what could be in the future, and operationally plan the delivery of what will be tomorrow.
The task is, not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees.
A map is the greatest of all epic poems. It's lines and colours show the realisation of great dreams.
Pretty awsome dude. particularly love the embedded map.