Digitising Bradford

In our second issue of Public Notice, we explored how digital technologies are shaping planning and delivery. Here, we deep dive into the processes underpinning everyday placemaking strategies that have the ability to foster a better and more inclusive public environment.

Like other northern English cities, Bradford’s history boasts a significant textile industry, which declined towards the end of the 20th century. The decline in its industry was mirrored in its economic decline, affecting the city as a place. In 2011, the Cities Outlook 1901 project, which looked at metrics including population, employment, wages and skills level to assess the progress of UK cities in the 111 years following 1901, noted Bradford’s decline as being the second worst in the UK¹.

Since then, other digital and technology-driven industries have gained prevalence, raising Bradford’s. Now home to more diverse communities, it has also become a significant cultural hub in Northern England and in 2025, it was named the UK’s City of Culture². The city is undertaking a range of regeneration and infrastructural schemes, including the Southern Gateway project, a 126-hectare transportation hub that will integrate rail, bus, walking and cycling across the city³. As Bradford reaches back to its glory days, it is doing so by looking ahead to the future: investing in digital technologies that will transform its built environment, helping the council deliver more effective urban civic planning, improving traffic management, supporting the modelling of air quality, flood risk and noise pollution.

While the concept of a free-to-use 3D model of Bradford had been in the cards for the city for some time, it had gone unrealised due to funding constraints. In 2017, Bradford Council secured part-funding from the European Union’s Smart Cities and Open Data Reuse (SCORE) project, allowing it to deliver the project. Aligned with SCORE’s aims to improve public services through smart open-data solutions, Visualising Bradford aims to become a catalyst for the council’s clean growth agenda, effective resource management goals and optimised infrastructure while protecting the city's heritage. This vision for a technology-driven future for Bradford mirrors the growing movement towards smart cities across Europe.

While the concept of a free-to-use 3D model of Bradford had been in the cards for the city for some time, it had gone unrealised due to funding constraints. In 2017, Bradford Council secured part-funding from the European Union’s Smart Cities and Open Data Reuse (SCORE) project⁴, allowing it to deliver the project. Aligned with SCORE’s aims to improve public services through smart open-data solutions, Visualising Bradford aims to become a catalyst for the council’s clean growth agenda, effective resource management goals and optimised infrastructure while protecting the city's heritage. This vision for a technology-driven future for Bradford mirrors the growing movement towards smart cities across Europe.

The project is a collaboration with the University of Bradford’s Visualising Heritage, a research group that uses interdisciplinary approaches from archaeology, forensics and anthropology to link tangible and intangible heritage to inform contemporary urban and spatial thinking. The team of academics and scientists aims to make their work discoverable and readily available for public use, which was the ethos at the heart of this project.

The first phase of developing the 3D model, which includes most of the city centre, began in 2021 and was completed in late 2022. Building upon methods developed in the group’s previous experiences, like the Curious Travellers and its Hidden Heritages project, the model captures approximately 100km of Bradford’s streetscape using various techniques and bespoke technology, such as mobile mapping, 3D laser scanning, GNSS, aerial imagery and object scanning. In total,10,000 aerial images of the city centre and images at street level were taken to collate the information needed to build the model. The team's efforts reflect its commitment to making a resource available for all.

As of 2024, the model was undergoing beta testing, meaning only a basic model of a fraction of the town centre is available for download. The model is accessible through the Open Government Licence. There are plans to expand its access through an open-source development platforms such as GitHub.

Having already been awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize presented at Buckingham Palace in February 2022⁵, the University of Bradford has secured additional funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Research England to support this ongoing work.

Digitisation of urban environments is commonplace. However, Bradford is revolutionary in being one of the first to create one that is free to use, contributing to the democratisation of access to digital tools and processes for city, urban and spatial planning.

In most cases, 3D models like this—which are costly to develop—must be purchased for use, which can be restrictive for local governments under financial strain. A key benefit of this project is that there is no vendor lock-in, meaning that Bradford Council can maintain the model and expand on its terms. In removing such financial barriers, the tool is not confined to the experts but is open to all, widening the system and allowing all to have a say in Bradford’s future.

As local governments seek to create more efficient systems for delivering a better every day, it is vital to explore the capabilities of digital technologies. This project is a leading example, setting a precedent for other major cities in the country.

The council already plans to develop the 3D modelling process for analysis of brownfield sites that can positively contribute to its regeneration agenda. It is also exploring a framework for digital masterplanning and encourages developers to engage and adopt digital processes in their plans for the city.

As outlined in its 2022 Digital Strategy plan, the council considers the adoption of the digital twin to be integral to confronting its current and future built environment challenges such as achieving net zero in Bradford by 2050, reducing social inequality as well as delivering on its clean growth agenda. There are plans to expand the model, with the Southern Gateway area considered a priority.

Bradford Council intends to invest further in the model through its Digital Strategy. Investment started in 2022 with an initial £500,000 and increased incrementally yearly⁶. The council is seeking capital investment to develop the digital twin model based on the Gemini Principles: to be and remain for the public good by having a clear purpose, being trustworthy and functioning effectively.

Bradford Council envisions a range of possibilities for the model beyond the built environment. Educational institutions can incorporate it into their curricula, allowing students to experience and understand the city’s heritage through digital forms. Small business owners could also use the model to create their own content, maximising the application’s use for the everyday person and promoting economic growth in the town centre.

The most promising development, however, is identifying options for embedding the digital twin in the Local Plan and the Local Infrastructure Plan. This will maximise its effect on the built environment, making it an effective planning tool for Bradford's development. As the technology evolves, it will be possible for the model to calculate climate impact simulations and traffic patterns, meaning that development can be accurately mapped with in-depth considerations that help balance growth and development with the impact of climate and sustainability.

Striking a balance between forward-thinking development and the preservation of cultural heritage has been a priority for cities like Bradford in recent years. By embracing technology, Bradford is energising its future beyond its crowning moment as the UK’s 2025 city of culture but also providing a strong vision for broadening the UK's urban planning approach.