Mapping Inequality in London: A Different Approach

Maps provide an effective means of distributing ideas simply, creating a format where spatial data can be easily understood. However, a lot of people are not aware where administrative boundaries lie, limiting their appeal for educating the public on important issues such as poverty and inequality. This paper seeks to utilize a well-known cartographic map design, the London Underground map, to aid data dissemination of the complex issues surrounding inequality and deprivation in London. A discussion of the relevance of this approach to researching inequality in London, as well as how this fits in with previous approaches to mapping poverty is provided. An example using the recent release of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2010 shows the usefulness of this design.