Mapping the Diaspora

An interactive map for exploring historical census data across Greater Manchester. Browse population, employment, housing, and migration indicators across the 1981, 1991, and 2001 censuses, shown at ward and enumeration district level.

What it does

The app renders choropleth maps of Manchester that shade each area by a chosen indicator. You pick a census year and an indicator from the panel on the left, and the map updates accordingly. All the underlying data is bundled in the repository as static GeoJSON files, so no external database or API is needed.

Running it locally

You need Node.js. If you do not have it, nvm is the simplest way to install it.

git clone https://github.com/jourdee-lab/mapping_diaspora_fyp.git
cd mapping_diaspora_fyp
npm install
npm run dev

Open the URL printed in your terminal. The page reloads automatically as you edit files.

Other commands

Command	What it does
npm run build	Builds the app for production into dist/
npm run preview	Serves the production build locally
npm run lint	Checks the code with ESLint

Project layout

src/
  components/   Map container, legend, side panels, header
  data/         Indicator definitions
  pages/        Page-level components (explorer, about, methodology)
  types/        Shared TypeScript types
public/
  geojson/      GeoJSON boundary files for 1981, 1991, and 2001

Tech stack

• Vite and TypeScript
• React
• Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui
• React Leaflet for the map

Deployment

The repository includes a vercel.json configured for single-page app routing. Import the repo at vercel.com and it will deploy automatically with no extra configuration needed.