Quarterly Newsletter - July 2025
Geospatial Data Science Group Quarterly Newsletter - June 2025
School of Geographical & Earth Sciences | University of Glasgow
Q2 2025
👋 Welcome Note
Dear colleagues, collaborators, and friends,
As we wrapped up another exciting quarter, we looked back at an incredibly productive and impactful few months for the Geospatial Data Science Group (GDSG). From major conference appearances and award-winning papers to impactful public talks and new research outputs, our interdisciplinary team continues to advance the boundaries of geospatial data science.
Thank you for being part of our growing community!
— The GDSG Communications Team
🛰️ Research Highlights
• Best Paper Award at LBS 2025 🏆
Anahid Basiri and Joe Shingleton were awarded Best Paper at LBS 2025 for:
“Geospatial Data Quality in the Era of Generative AI: Can We Trust the Geographic Information Produced by Large Language Models?”
Their work addressed the pressing challenge of assessing trust in AI-generated geospatial information.
• Best Full Paper Award at AGILE 2025 🏆
Anahid Basiri and Joe Shingleton were awarded Best Full Paper at AGILE 2025 with:
“How close is ‘close’? An analysis of the spatial characteristics of perceived proximity using Large Language Models”
The paper introduces a novel approach using Large Language Models (LLMs) to analyse the nuanced concept of perceived spatial proximity. They found that perceived proximity is influenced by factors such as accessibility, transit connectivity, and administrative prominence, highlighting the complexity beyond mere geometric distance.
• New Publication in Mathematics from Dominick Sutton, Anahid Basiri & Ziqi Li: “Exploring a Diagnostic Test for Missingness at Random”🚨
This open-access study investigated the potential for a new diagnostic test to identify when data is missing at random. Although the test fell short of practical use, the paper introduced a thought-provoking extension to standard missing data classifications.
• New Publication in Habitat International from Xinyi Yuan, Ziqi Li, Anahid Basiri, and Mingshu Wang: "Where England's cities are growing: Evidence from big building footprint data and explainable AI" 🚨
This paper explores urban development patterns across England. Using building footprints and SHAP, they work to uncover how population density, ethnic composition, and deprivation jointly shape urban growth over past five years.
🌍 Impact & Engagement
• Ongoing UX Research on Missing Data Visualisation
Merve Polat Kayali launched a survey exploring how users interact with and interpret missing data on maps, building on Anthony Robinson’s work. The study aimed to better understand user perception of absence and uncertainty in geospatial contexts.
🗺️ Take the survey
• Ana Basiri Spoke at the Scottish Parliament
Prof. Ana Basiri contributed expert testimony during a parliamentary session on AI and the UK-EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement, held at Holyrood.
📺 Watch the full session
• Public Lecture: “Big Data, Bigger Holes”
On Thursday, 5 June, Prof. Basiri delivered a well-attended talk at the ARC, University of Glasgow, discussing the power and implications of missing data.
🎟️ Event link
• Keynotes at LBS 2025: "Geospatial Data Quality in the Era of Generative AI"
Prof. Ana Basiri delivered a keynote, Meiliu Wu chaired a session, and Joe Shingleton presented on geospatial data quality in generative AI contexts.
• Panellist: Centre for Digital Trust and Society Forum 2025 - Generative AI and Security
Prof. Ana Basiri served on a insightful and thought provoking panel in early July, representing the University of Glasgow Geospatial Data Science Group
• Keynotes at AGIT Conference 2025: "Big Data, Bigger Holes - Navigating the Big Data - Good Data Paradox"
Prof. Ana Basiri delivered a keynote on navigating big data.
🧭 Team News
• Quarterly Away Day
The GDSG team gathered for our quarterly Lab Away Day, featuring presentations from each team member on their latest research.
• Team Spotlight: Prof. Ana Basiri
As Professor of Geospatial Data Science, Director of the Centre for Data Science & AI, and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, Ana Basiri led our group with a commitment to tackling bias, data unavailability, and complexity in location-based services.
• Team Spotlight: Joseph Shingleton
Joe works as one of our Research Software Engineering Scientists and is dedicated to advancing the reliability, consistency, accuracy, and real-world usefulness of large language models.
🗓️ Upcoming Events
• Festival of Data Science & AI hosted by the Centre for Data Science and AI
University of Glasgow | Advanced Research Centre (ARC) | 27-29 October, 2025
📨 Stay Connected
🌐 Website
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🐦 Twitter/X
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