We have arranged for a bespoke walking tour for GIScience attendees on 17:00-19:00 Wednesday 13 September.

Places (limited) can be booked here.

1815 map of the west side of central Leeds with 1890s OS overlay in blue – approx. 1km E-W

The tour will help delegates to appreciate the way that Leeds has evolved over the centuries – continuity and change in buildings, infrastructure and functions as economic, social, technological, demographic, political and cultural factors interact. We have everything from Medieval street patterns to new structures with features that would have been hard to imagine even a few years ago.

Printed historic maps will help with understanding the layering of the city over time. The route will go from the University campus, down through the civic quarter of the city, parts of the commercial core and on to the waterways and the area formerly dominated by heavy industry.

We’ll finish at a characterful pub in Holbeck, ‘the cradle of innovation’, where mechanisation of traditional industries and the birth of new ones took off in the late 18th century. Surprising changes are under way here.

The free tour will be limitted to 30 people and details for how to register will be sent round after early-bird registration closes.