London The Information Capital

“Digital maps gain interactivity at the expense of tangibility and, we think, engagement. We wanted to create an object that you could sit with, pore over, share with your friends (in person) and then discuss.” (p.28)

Overall Verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Why this book?
This book was a kind gift from the education team at the Museum of London, thanking me for some work that I did with them previously. It’s what I’d call a ‘coffee table book’- wide and flat, sort of awkward to put onto a bookshelf but full of beautiful graphics worthy of regular ‘flicks’. The problem with such books though is that (if you’re like me) months and months can pass with them neatly placed yet unopened. So, I finally decided to read it and learn more about the city that I call home!

For students:
So you’ve been told to choose a coursework topic… you’ve been told to be independent… and you know you want to do it on London but where next? The 100+ graphics contained in this book seemingly cover every element of London life and you’re sure to find something you want to investigate further or at a different scale. Oh, and the variation of data presentation methods is exceptional- no excuses to simply fill your NEA of bar graphs and pie charts!

The graphics are divided into five themes: where we are, who we are, where we go, how we’re doing and what we like. Helpfully, the source of each is given too so although the data is not up to date anymore, you’re given a starting point for taking it further.

For teachers:
As with any book of this kind, the data is out of date almost as soon as it is published. However, the authors recognise this and they explain that the data is what was available in Spring 2014. Thus they stress that the graphics should be used as a snapshot rather than graven definitions and used to spark conversations- and that’s exactly what I think the strength of this book is. If you’re a London based geography teacher who (like me) struggles to get students to be individual and creative in the title choices of their independent investigation (coursework) then I would highly recommend a copy or two of this book for your department. As per the quote above, what is lost in slightly outdated data is outweighed by the engagement and discussion that this book has the potential to spark.

I eagerly await an updated version of this book (please do let me know if you know of something similar) but in the meantime, check out the website here for (free!) access to the electronic graphics.