Scotland’s towns are changing: How data can help councils respond

Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) is Scotland’s national towns collective, representing and promoting the diversity of Scotland’s towns and places, and supporting the organisations and groups – local authorities, businesses, community groups and individual advocates – with an interest in, or ownership of, them. Understanding Scottish Places (USP) is one of STP’s core tools, developed alongside the University of Stirling with support from the Scottish Government: it lets you visualise how different towns inter-relate, inform local decisions using national and local data, and build on that profile with the USP Your Town Audit. Below, Kimberley Guthrie, Chief Officer of Scotland’s Towns Partnership, looks at what the newly relaunched USP dataset means for councils.

Introduction

Scotland’s towns are transforming, each in their own way. 

Over the past decade, some – like Countesswells in Aberdeen – have been planned as new suburban developments. Others, such as Bilston in Midlothian, have been redeveloped to meet changing local needs. Meanwhile, towns like Tweedbank and the Buckhaven-Level-Methil area have grown organically, influenced by improved rail links and the movement of people seeking affordable housing and accessible services. 

More recently, the rise in working from home is changing how people move around and engage with their towns. 

Given this diversity, a one-size-fits-all approach to policy isn’t the answer or doesn’t work. Councils need a clear, evidence-based understanding of each place to make decisions that are relevant and targeted. 

Data is powerful 

Better knowledge of our towns helps us better understand our future. Data is powerful and authority-level averages run the risk of masking variations between towns. Services built around ‘Scottish averages’ often fail to reflect the realities of specific communities. 

With nearly 55% of Scotland’s population living in towns of fewer than 50,000 people, towns are central to the nation’s social and economic wellbeing. 

The updated Understanding Scottish Places (USP) dataset now identifies 508 towns, up from 479 in 2014. Many settlements have grown beyond the 1,000 population threshold, while others, like Kirkcaldy, have moved into new categories – Kirkcaldy and Dysart now ranks as a city with around 51,000 residents.

This data does more than provide a snapshot, it highlights trends, helping councils anticipate the needs of towns five or ten years ahead. 

USP enables councils to move beyond preconceived notions. Its comparables function allows towns to be benchmarked not just against neighbouring towns, but against structurally similar places across Scotland. This helps councils identify strengths, emerging pressures and service gaps. 

Reflecting on past work, for example in the case of town centre roadshows that evolved into pan-local regeneration discussions, access to up-to-date USP data would have completely transformed those conversations. Every town – whether Kilmarnock, Greenock or Kirkcaldy – has unique challenges but also assets and USP provides the insights in approaching them accordingly.

Data also helps challenge assumptions. Not all high streets are in decline, as campaigns like Scotland Loves Local and ‘High Street Heroes’ have shown. USP allows councils to negate narratives, making sure decisions are grounded in evidence as opposed to perception. Consistent, comparable national data is invaluable both for shaping policy and for supporting reputational narratives. 

The 2025 USP relaunch has been updated through support of Scottish Government and census data integration. It is foundational for future tools, updated Towns Audit and the refreshed toolkit, incorporating all of the data from Scotland’s most recent census in 2022.  Learn more about our methodology here. 

The ‘Your Town Audit’ gives councils a common, pan-Scotland framework for measuring town centre performance. There are over 50 key performance indicators across themes from accessibility and local services to place quality. This is so that towns can be benchmarked consistently against one another, and against themselves, year on year. 

The Town Centre Toolkit complements this by gathering tried-and-tested ideas and real examples from towns across Scotland, organised around themes such as arts and culture, buildings and property, clean and green, enterprise and business, and streets and spaces – to help councils, businesses and community groups put the town centre first, and put the geographical place into practice on the ground.

Final thoughts

USP is a starting point, not a complete solution – but it equips councils with the data needed to understand their towns, engage in the right kind of conversations and align action with local realities. 

When councils truly understand their towns, assets, pressures, they allow for smarter policy choices, target resources more effectively and synchronise services with changing populations. Ultimately, a deep understanding of place is key to building resilient and thriving communities across Scotland.

Find out more

Look up your own town on Understanding Scottish Places and see how it compares to similar places across Scotland. If your council or organisation would like to know more about Scotland’s Towns Partnership, please email [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you.