Yeme Tech teams up with Esri UK

Bradford-based proptech start-up Yeme Tech has signed a partnership deal with Esri UK, part of the world’s largest mapping company.

Yeme Tech was founded by Amir Hussain, deputy chair of housing, regeneration & place at West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The firm aims to improve urban planning for towns and cities, and has created a community data platform to help planners and developers instantly identify the social infrastructure, facilities and community spaces which are missing from British neighbourhoods.

Esri UK’s customers include HS2, Sustrans, Sport England, National Trust, The Environment Agency, Ordnance Survey, Greater London Authority and more than 200 local authorities in England and Wales.

It is part of California-headquartered Esri Inc, the provider of geographic information system software used by more than 30,000 cities and local councils, 12,000 national government agencies, 33,000 businesses and 12,000 not-for-profit organisations worldwide.

Hussain said that the platform not only measures community resources – such as schools, shops, green space, libraries and cultural assets – but also local stakeholders, local events and the activities of local groups, to provide insight into the social as well as economic health of communities.

He said: “Society has changed beyond all recognition over the past 30 years.

“The failure of places to keep pace with change is understandable but means towns and cities across the UK, like those across the world, have lost track of the needs and wants of local people. This leads to places losing their sense of identity while loneliness, exclusion and community fragmentation are having profound impacts on health and wellbeing.

“The death of retail and the high street offers councils and developers a bold opportunity to reinvent their neighbourhoods by strengthening existing social and community assets and strengthening relationships with local stakeholders.”

Yeme Tech has, the firm said, taken inspiration from the Bromley by Bow Centre, the pioneering integrated health hub.

Hussain continued: “It can be very complex and time-consuming to regenerate our towns and cities to adapt to meet the current and future needs and wants of their citizens.

“What our Community Data Platform does is provide granular local detail in real-time to strip away the complexity and enable planners and developers to work with local communities to deliver successful urban planning which provides the facilities and social infrastructure that people need and want.”

Laura Dean, Esri partner network manager, said: “Esri UK is delighted that Yeme Tech has joined our Esri partner network. Making use of our suite of developer tools, ArcGIS Developers, the team has managed to represent community data in a clear and engaging manner, allowing users to achieve valuable new insights. We look forward to working closely with the Yeme Tech team moving forward.”