Get an area's history

Trace an area through time: what it replaced, what replaced it, and which other boundary releases use the same code.

get

https://api.ukdataatlas.com/v1/areas/{geography}/{release}/{code}/history

Good to know

The same code in two releases doesn't guarantee the same boundary, so treat it as a clue, not proof.
Each lineage entry names the area the step came from, so a chain several hops long reads back in order. A link is listed once, however far round the graph you reach it.

Path parameters

geographystringrequired
A geography type id, e.g. constituency or ward.
releasestringrequired
A boundary release id, e.g. 2024-07-uk-bgc, or latest for the geography's newest release: the one /boundary-releases:resolve chooses for the furthest date. A response to latest names the release it read in Content-Location. A geography whose newest month holds several releases that differ in more than coverage, or that has a release whose id carries no month, is refused with 409 and the releases that could be newest.
codestringrequired
An area's official code in that release, e.g. E05000932.

Query parameters

depthinteger 1–20optional
Maximum number of declared historical edges to follow.
Default8

Returns

object

Area history, including a warning about same-code continuity.

When it goes wrong

404No resource matches that identity.

Every error has the same shape. See Errors for how to handle them.

Returns a bounded traversal of published historical relationships plus every other release of the same geography that contains the same code. Each lineage entry names the area the walk stood on as from and the area it reached as counterpart. A link a crosswalk publishes from both ends is one edge and is reported once, whichever end the walk reaches it from. Same-code continuity is not evidence of unchanged geometry or a one-to-one historical equivalent.

Request

curl "https://api.ukdataatlas.com/v1/areas/localAuthority/2023-05-uk-bgc-v2/E08000025/history"

Response200

{
  "apiVersion": "v1",
  "atlasRelease": "sha256:5c4aa4529cbfbd5e4c844c55cddba1ef04a7bf76f3eaa085a357fff401af6d0c",
  "data": {
    "id": "localAuthority/2023-05-uk-bgc-v2/E08000025",
    "geography": "localAuthority",
    "boundaryRelease": "2023-05-uk-bgc-v2",
    "code": "E08000025",
    "name": "Birmingham",
    "relationships": [
      {
        "relation": "predecessor",
        "counterpart": {
          "id": "localAuthority/2022-12-uk-bgc-v2/E08000025",
          "geography": "localAuthority",
          "boundaryRelease": "2022-12-uk-bgc-v2",
          "code": "E08000025",
          "labels": [
            "Birmingham"
          ]
        },
        "crosswalk": {
          "id": "local-authority-2022-12-uk-bgc-v2-to-2023-05-uk-bgc-v2-official-lookup",
          "method": "official-lookup",
          "quality": "publisher-supplied",
          "weighting": {
            "status": "not-provided"
          }
        }
      }
    ],
    "lineage": [
      {
        "relation": "predecessor",
        "depth": 1,
        "from": "localAuthority/2023-05-uk-bgc-v2/E08000025",
        "counterpart": {
          "id": "localAuthority/2022-12-uk-bgc-v2/E08000025"
        }
      }
    ],
    "sameCodeReleases": [
      {
        "id": "localAuthority/2016-12-gb-bgc/E08000025",
        "geography": "localAuthority",
        "boundaryRelease": "2016-12-gb-bgc",
        "code": "E08000025",
        "name": "Birmingham",
        "status": "same-code-continuity"
      }
    ],
    "note": "Lineage follows only published historical edges and never infers a connection from a reused code. equivalent-to is published only for extent continuity. Same-code continuity only reports that the identifier appears in another release; it does not assert unchanged geometry or an exact historical equivalent."
  },
  "meta": {
    "nextCursor": null
  }
}

Get an area's history

Path parameters

Query parameters

Returns

When it goes wrong

Technical notes