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Cambridge City Council

State of the City (The Cambridge City Portrait)

The Cambridge 'State of the City' report and dashboard provide a data-led overview of what Cambridge is like economically, socially, and environmentally. It also compares Cambridge to other cities in England and Wales.

The evidence draws on publicly available, nationally comparable data, and is based on a 'Six Lenses' framework, with the following themes.

  • Environment:
    • environment and sustainability
    • wildlife and nature
  • Society:
    • social equity
    • wellbeing and prosperity
  • Economy:
    • business and enterprise
    • workforce and jobs

This shared evidence base will enable us, local communities, partners, and other stakeholders to have meaningful, data-informed discussions about key trends affecting the future of Cambridge. The report will also help identify ways to work together across the local system to address those areas of greatest opportunity or concern. 

This is a companion piece to the Cambridge Together community engagement report. Cambridge Together captured feedback from residents and stakeholders on what they value about their neighbourhood and what they would like Cambridge to be like in early 2023.

The research has been produced by consultants Cambridge Econometrics, using funding secured from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

We intend to update the dashboard at least annually as new data becomes available, and to produce a summary State of the City report each year to help identify trends and significant changes.

Continual updates will help us track changing outcomes for people, the economy and the environment over time, and can inform the collective work that we and our partners are doing. This will help ensure our collective resources are focussed on making a difference to the things that matter most to Cambridge.

Report

The 100-page report includes data that can be compared with other places and a set of metrics that has been chosen with the input of a broad range of stakeholders across the city. 

Dashboard

Our online dashboard allows everyone to see, use and delve deeper into the data.

Feedback

Since this is the first year we’ve produced this, we’re aware it won’t be perfect – there are always limits on what data can tell you, depending on what is available, when it was updated, what it measures and what level it can be drilled down to.

We don’t expect this to provide all the answers, but we hope it will prompt more informed questions and debate. We would be happy to receive your feedback and suggestions.

Service related queries

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