Last week, 24th of September, Dr Goldschmidt Kiminami presented a paper co-authored with Professor Harland at the Spatial Humanities Conference 2026, held at the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal. The paper, “Participatory Mapping of Art Deco Architecture through AI-Generated Podcast”, looks at how audio storytelling built with AI tools can help people take part in heritage mapping of Art Deco Loughborough buildings. A project developed with the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group (LLLSVG).
Dr Kiminami is presenting the Mapping Heritage scoping project at the Spatial Humanities Conference 2026, developed with the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group (LLLSVG).
This year’s conference focused on Artificial Intelligence and Geotechnologies for Human Experiences. Its main aim was to explore how geospatial technologies, approaches, and methods can add to knowledge, both within the digital humanities and beyond. We’re pleased to see this work shared with an international audience of researchers working at the meeting point of geography, technology and the humanities.
EURA 2026 conference signage in Campo San Rocco, Venice, with the Church of San Rocco in the background
From 17–20 June 2026, the European Urban Research Association (EURA) Annual Conference was held at Università Iuav di Venezia in Venice, Italy. As part of the conference, Pegah Aftabi, PhD researcher at Loughborough University, presented her research on community-centred approaches to urban heritage.
Her paper, “Rethinking Urban Heritage Inequalities through Participatory Methods: Examining Community Narratives beyond Official Recognition,” was presented as part of her PhD research in the session “Heritage under Overtourism: Reframing the Management of Change in Historic Urban Landscapes,” chaired by Anna Marson and Monica Calcagno.
The session explored how understandings of heritage are changing in response to contemporary social and economic pressures. Particular attention was given to the shift from heritage defined mainly through institutional recognition towards more dynamic processes of heritage-making shaped by citizens and communities. These discussions raised important questions about grassroots heritage practices, citizen-led preservation, and the ways in which community participation can broaden and democratise understandings of cultural value.
Pegah Aftabi presenting her PhD research at the Cotonificio Veneziano, Università Iuav di Venezia, during the EURA 2026 Annual Conference
Pegah’s research closely engages with these questions. Her PhD examines how communities identify, value and represent urban heritage, particularly where locally meaningful places, practices and narratives fall outside formal systems of heritage recognition. Through participatory methods, the research considers how community knowledge can contribute to more inclusive approaches to identifying, mapping and representing urban heritage.
The conference also included two plenary sessions featuring keynote contributions from Patrick Le Galès, Jennifer Robinson, Francesco Bandarin and Maria Gravari-Barbas. Their discussions placed questions of heritage within wider debates around urban governance, inequality, tourism and the management of change in cities.
Keynote session on historic urban landscapes in the Sala Capitolare, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, during the EURA 2026 Annual Conference, Venice
Across the conference, a recurring theme was the central role of communities in shaping how urban heritage is understood and sustained. Pegah’s research similarly argues that community narratives, memories and everyday practices should be recognised as important forms of heritage knowledge, with the potential to inform how historic urban environments are interpreted and managed.
The presentation formed part of the ongoing development of Pegah’s PhD research at Loughborough University, supported by her supervisory team and The Impact Hub project.
On Tuesday, 21 July, we launched the Mapping Heritage Toolkit with an online workshop that drew interest from 100 participants from more than 10 countries.
The toolkit is for anyone who loves local history, leads a community group, or wants to explore how maps and storytelling come together. It guides users through 12 simple steps to co-creating a story map.
It’s the culmination of 18 months work between Loughborough University researchers based in the School of Design and Creative Arts, and the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group.
We were joined by guest contributors Dr Firat Batmaz and Dr Sara Saravi from the Centre for AI in Education, Department of Computer Science at Loughborough University, who added valuable insight to the session about ethics and generative AI.
Sharon Gray and David Kirkby, representing the volunteer group, also contributed with their experience and perspectives on being part of the project.
The toolkit is now live! Click on the image below to download it.
Watch the workshop recording immediately below.
The toolkit and the three supporting leaflets that informed its development (see below) were posted to participants who requested them through our feedback survey.
To download the supporting leaflets, follow these links:
The Mapping Heritage Toolkit Workshop on Tuesday, 21 July, marks the official launch and introduction of the toolkit. If you enjoy local history, lead a community group, or just want to explore how maps and storytelling work together, this toolkit provides a guide through 12 simple steps to co-creating a story map.
The steps were developed by the TOWN Observatory and the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group (LLLSVG), drawing on real experience of collaboration to build a story map from the beginning. Each step includes practical examples from LLLSVG projects concerning the Medieval Loughborough trail, Art Deco trail, and the Market Place, to provide insight into how ideas work in practice.
The toolkit presents a clear structure, providing one approach to creating a story map. Each step highlights key points for consideration in the synthesis of local knowledge, analogue resources, idea development, and creative execution using digital platforms.
For details scan the QR code below or register here.
Organising team Dr Robert G. Harland Dr Cristina A. Goldschmidt Kiminami Pegah Aftabi Greta Chen
On 18th March, 2026, the Living Knowledge Network – British Library hosted Dr. Cristina Kiminami and Dr. Robert Harland from Loughborough University, who presented their Heritage Mapping project. In collaboration with the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group (LLLSVG), the project explored the potential for using the ArcGIS StoryMaps digital platform to combine stories, interactive maps, videos, photos and local history in an engaging experience that makes history easy and accessible for all.
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Images from the webinar, from left to right: (1) Dr Robert Harland introduces the creation of the Medieval Loughborough project; (2) Dr Cristina A. G. Kiminami explains how the collaboration worked, (3) David Kirkby (right) from LLLSVG answering questions from the audience from the volunteer group’s perspective.
This relationship shows how local history and archives can reach more people through open dialogue, co-creation and the development of digital literacy. The webinar shared valuable ideas for local studies librarians, archivists, volunteers and anyone interested in urban heritage, revealing how storytelling and community involvement can bring history to life when universities and local community groups work together.
Watch the full recording of the presentation here.
Acknowledgements: with thanks to Krisztina Lackoi and Zuzzanna Needham for the wonderful opportunity and to David Kirkby for representing the amazing LLLSVG team.
The photo above shows the participants and Dr Cristina G Kiminami during the StoryMaps workshop.
This morning at Loughborough University, the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group (LLLSVG) took part in a hands-on workshop led by Dr Cristina G. Kiminami, with assistance from Pegah Aftabi. The session focused on ArcGIS StoryMaps, a digital platform for making interactive, map-based stories.
The LLLSVG and the TOWN Observatory have worked closely together since January 2025, with excellent results. The recent StoryMaps workshop was part of ongoing activity to support the volunteers to develop new digital skills.
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Above:(1) & (2) Everyone enjoyed some very welcome refreshments before the workshop; (3) (4) (5) Participants each worked on their StoriesMaps with Dr Cristina G. Kiminami providing guidance and support throughout the session.
The group learned the basics of the ArcGIS StoryMaps platform and how it can be used to share Loughborough’s history in interesting new ways. They each learned how to upload images, videos and audio, and how to create stories about the local area. Everyone was enthusiastic and keen to see what digital storytelling can do.
Learning how to use StoryMaps gives the Local Studies volunteers a new set of skills for sharing their historical research with the public, ensuring Loughborough’s heritage stories are preserved and go on to be re-shared into the future.
The workshop was another great example of the successful partnership between the TOWN Observatory and the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group. Further drop-in sessions with the group are scheduled to happen soon!
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Above:(1) &(2) LLLSVG and TOWN Observatory members who participated in the ArcGIS StoryMaps workshop.
In Issue 4 of The Urban Observatory Newsletter, published by the UN-Habitat Global Urban Observatory Unit, Dr Rob Harland explores what is meant by ‘urban data’ from the perspective of someone relatively new to this emerging phenomenon. He draws attention to five categories of big data as being:
1. Sensor data on urban infrastructure and moving objects.
2. User data on society and humans.
3. Governmental administration data.
4. Customer and transaction.
5. Arts and humanities data.
In utilising a basic typology of settlement size (as shown in the ABOUT section), he counter-argues for an appreciation of ‘urban small data’ to reflect the rural end of the settlement spectrum. Rob’s argument reminds us of the UN’s pledge to ‘leave no one behind’, by ensuring that we ‘observe’ how people live in all settlement sizes.
Illustration Source: The Urban Observatory Newsletter UN-HABITAT Issue 4 Oct 2025*
To read the full article, download the newsletter directly here, or review all issues on the Urban Observatories website.
* Adapted from: Waugh D. (2000) Geography: an integrated approach, Walton-on-Thames: Nelson. p. 300
Advisory Group Meeting, Loughborough UniversityMarch 2024 Cambridge Festival March – May 2024 Drop-in Sessions at John Storer House, Fearon Hall and the Careers and Enterprise Hub
April 2024 Attendance at an event on Cultural Heritage and the Just City, University of Sheffield
April 2024 First meeting with the Gauteng City-Region Observatory, Wits University, Johannesburg, South AfricaMay and June 2024 Focus Groups and interviews with residents at John Storer House and Loughborough University
May and June 2024 Online interviews with stakeholders
July 2024 Seedcorn projects launch event, Loughborough UniversityJuly 2024 Advisory Group Meeting, Loughborough UniversityJuly 2024 Presentation at the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) congress in Paris, France
July 2024 Participation in the Design Sprint of the Branching Out project, University of York
August 2024 Presentation at theRoyal Geographical Society Annual International Conference, LondonAugust – December 2024 Initial meetings with the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group
September 2024 Presentation on The Impact Hub at the Loughborough Heritage Forum, Loughborough Golf Club
September 2024 Participation at the Loughborough Heritage Open WeekendOctober 2024 Presentation on Designing Cities, Leicester’s Creative Industry DepotNovember 2024 Presentation for BA Architecture and Urbanism students, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil
November 2024 Presentation at the ICOMOS Scientific Symposium, Ouro Preto, Brazil
November 2024 Participatory Mapping Session with the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group, Loughborough UniversityJanuary 2025 Advisory Group Meeting, Loughborough UniversityJanuary 2025 OECD Paris
The TOWN Observatory (TO) participated in the Loughborough Heritage Open Weekend held on September 20th and 21st. During the event, the team was based at the Careers and Enterprise Hub, where they showcased the TO project and shared updates on its latest developments.
Throughout the weekend, the team offered presentations to the public, highlighting ongoing research and inviting visitors to engage in friendly conversations about the advancements and community involvement associated with the observatory.
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Above (read left to right): (1) Dr Robert Harland presenting the TOWN Observatory; (2) Dr Cristina A G Kiminami presenting the Loughborough Stories platform; (3) Pegah Aftabi presenting about a recent survey on co-creating heritage in Loughborough.
During the event, on Saturday, the TO presented the Loughborough Stories platform, featuring the new Medieval Loughborough initiative undertaken in partnership with the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group (LLLSVG). The Heritage Open Weekend also featured an inaugural Medieval Loughborough Walk promoted and hosted by LLLSVG. Following this, the Colouring Loughborough team also shared their work and was available for walk in sessions.
(4) Mihyun Kim, Pegah Aftabi, Dr Cristina A G Kiminami, and Dr Robert Harland at the Careers and Enterprise Hub ready to welcome the public on Saturday
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Above (read left to right):(5) David Kirkby, Christina Harris, and Sharon Gray from the LLLSVG team visiting the TOWN Observatory. (6) TOWN Observatory leaflets (including a map) available to the public. (7) The Medieval Loughborough Walk promoted and hosted by LLLSVG
The event also provided the opportunity to showcase innovative PhD research and early findings through interactive mapping activities with the public and ongoing collaborators.
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Above (8 and 9): The interactive mapping activity conducted by Pegah Aftabi at the Heritage Open Weekend. This session involved an investigation of communities interactions with listed buildings in Loughborough.
On Sunday, other members of the TOWN Observatory team were present. The main highlights were the sharing of the Loughborough in Motion and Chat Loughborough platforms. Several other doctoral researchers also showcased their work.
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Above (read left to right): (10) Matt Beenchey, Tong Chen, Dr Asya Natapov, Wenjie Chen, Mohamed Shamroukh, (11) The TOWN Observatory team presenting the Loughborough in Motion Platform.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Jill Vincent, Pete Hitchings, Bhavna Patel and John Weightman for their support in facilitating this activity.
