Case Studies Mapping Urban Change

Mapping Urban Change

Name: National Collection of Aerial Photography
Price range: $

Historic aerial photography provides a unique record of urban growth, housing development, infrastructure expansion and settlement change.

Mapping Decades of Change

The National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) holds aerial imagery spanning almost a century, creating a detailed visual record of how towns and cities have evolved over time. Historic photographs reveal the growth of residential areas, commercial centres and transport networks, providing valuable context that is often unavailable through contemporary mapping alone.

The Greenwich Peninsula in east London, with the West India Docks to the west and the East India Docks to the north; Collection: SAL, Sortie: HSL/ESSEX/60/0004, Frame: 0105 (1960)

40 years later, the filling in of many of the docks is clear, as is extensive development, including the Millennium Dome; Collection: SAL, Sortie: AF/00C/0546, Frame: 0333 (18 June 2000)

Supporting planning and development

Historic aerial photography helps planners, researchers and local authorities understand how towns and cities have evolved over time.

Comparing imagery from different periods allows for:

Urban growth analysis to track housing expansion, suburban development and changing settlement boundaries.
Transport infrastructure studies to monitor changes to road networks, rail corridors and major development routes.
Urban regeneration and redevelopment planning to identify how towns and cities have transformed over successive decades.
Commercial and industrial development planning to assess the growth and decline of employment and business areas.
Population growth and urbanisation research to examine long-term patterns of settlement change and city expansion.

By providing a visual record captured over successive decades, aerial photography offers valuable context for understanding past development and informing future planning decisions.

Fields where the South Parks district of the Scottish New Town of Glenrothes is today; Collection: SCOT, Sortie: CPE/SCOT/UK/0220, Frame: 0047 (25 June 1947)

Glenrothes today. The farmhouse in the previous image still stands, just to the left of the rectangular park in the centre of the image; Collection: SCOT, Sortie: ASS/51888, Frame: 0098 (14 June 1988)

A century of development from above

Many locations within the NCAP archive have been photographed repeatedly over several decades, creating a chronological record of urban transformation. From post-war housing expansion to major transport projects and city-centre regeneration, these collections provide unique insights into the development of modern towns and cities.

Captured at specific points in time, historic aerial photography also provides an independent, time-stamped record of development and landscape change. This verifiable visual evidence can support planning reports, development proposals, strategic studies and academic research, helping to demonstrate how an area has evolved and providing valuable historical context for decision-making.

Despite recent decline and closure, the Prince's and Queen's Docks in Glasgow were still significant landmarks in the late 1970s; Collection: SAL, Sortie: FSL/7825, Frame: 0986 (26 August 1978)

In fewer than 20 years, the Queen's Dock was completely filled and the Scottish Event Campus began taking shape in its place; Collection: SAL, Sortie: AF/97C/0809, Frame: 3945 (24 September 1997)

How to access imagery

There are two ways to order NCAP imagery;

Visit our online portal which provides easy access to digitised imagery that is ready to order at optimal resolution.

NCAP offers a Scan-on-Demand Service where you can identify specific new images for digitisation by using Finding Aids where available. See the How-To Guides for help using the Finding Aids and ordering imagery.

Map Search Scan-on-Demand