Data Sources
Last updated
New accounts use fictional sample data. Real place and area data is limited to a live data pilot and comes from the published sources below. Each is a dated snapshot, not a live check. To report a mistake or ask for a record about you to be removed, email tamas@urbsai.com.
How current the data is
Urbs doesn’t visit or verify businesses. Each place record shows what its source published in a particular release. Urbs keeps the release name with the record wherever it goes: on screen, in saved lists, and in the “Source” column and attribution line of CSV exports. Since then a business may have opened, closed, moved or changed. Area statistics describe the census or survey period shown, not today.
We update a source by processing a whole new release rather than editing individual records, so changes arrive in batches. This page lists the release in use.
Sources in use
Urbs sample data
All accounts- Publisher
- Urbs
- Used for
- Fictional coffee shops and roasteries for trying Urbs out. They don’t describe real businesses.
- Coverage
- Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and nearby areas of East London.
- Current as of
- A fixed sample set.
- Licence
- Created by Urbs.
- Attribution
- Labelled “Fictional” wherever it appears.
Overture Maps Places
Live data pilot- Publisher
- Overture Maps Foundation
- Used for
- Business and place records: name, category, address, website, phone number, operating status and location.
- Coverage
- United Kingdom and United States.
- Current as of
- Release 2026-09-23.1. Every result, saved place and export names the release it came from.
- Licence
- Each upstream contributor’s own licence, mostly CDLA Permissive 2.0. See Overture’s attribution page for the full list.
- Attribution
- Overture Maps Foundation, overturemaps.org, with the contributor notices listed on Overture’s attribution page.
Overture Maps Divisions
Live data pilot- Publisher
- Overture Maps Foundation
- Used for
- Assigning places to the right country and region.
- Coverage
- United Kingdom and United States.
- Current as of
- Release 2026-09-23.1, the same as Places.
- Licence
- Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0.
- Attribution
- © OpenStreetMap contributors. Available under the Open Database License. Other contributors as listed by Overture.
Census 2021 and LSOA 2021 boundaries
Live data pilot- Publisher
- Office for National Statistics
- Used for
- Population, households, age and housing tenure for small areas.
- Coverage
- England and Wales.
- Current as of
- Census day, 21 March 2021.
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Data Zones 2022 and Scotland’s Census 2022
Live data pilot- Publisher
- Scottish Government and National Records of Scotland
- Used for
- Small-area boundaries and population statistics.
- Coverage
- Scotland.
- Current as of
- Census day, 20 March 2022.
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- Copyright Scottish Government, contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Records of Scotland data © Crown copyright 2024.
Census 2021 Data Zones
Live data pilot- Publisher
- Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
- Used for
- Small-area boundaries and population statistics.
- Coverage
- Northern Ireland.
- Current as of
- Census day, 21 March 2021.
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- Source: NISRA, Census 2021. Contains Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
American Community Survey and TIGER/Line tracts
Live data pilot- Publisher
- US Census Bureau
- Used for
- Population, households, age and housing tenure by census tract.
- Coverage
- United States.
- Current as of
- ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimates and 2024 TIGER/Line boundaries.
- Licence
- US federal public data. See the Census Bureau’s open data policy.
- Attribution
- Source: US Census Bureau, 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates and 2024 TIGER/Line boundaries.
Amazon Location Service
Live data pilot- Publisher
- Amazon Web Services and its data providers
- Used for
- Finding the town, city or postcode you search for.
- Coverage
- United Kingdom and United States.
- Current as of
- Looked up at the time you search.
- Licence
- AWS service terms.
- Attribution
- “Results: Amazon Location and its data providers”, linking to AWS’s data attribution page.
OpenFreeMap basemap
All accounts- Publisher
- OpenFreeMap, using OpenMapTiles and OpenStreetMap data
- Used for
- The background map: streets, water, parks and labels. Urbs doesn’t search or export it.
- Coverage
- Worldwide.
- Current as of
- Updated regularly by OpenFreeMap from OpenStreetMap.
- Licence
- OpenStreetMap data under the Open Database License.
- Attribution
- OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap, shown in the corner of every map.
Attribution when you share data
Attribution travels with the data. It appears on the map and in source panels, and every CSV export names its source and release and ends with an attribution line. If you share results or exports, keep the attribution with them. Our Terms of Service explain what you may share; bulk redistribution isn’t allowed.
Licensing review
We’re reviewing each source’s terms for every way its data can leave Urbs: on screen, in exports and, in future, through an API. We’ll widen access to a source, and our API terms will say what can be redistributed, only once that review is complete for that source and use. We don’t add data scraped from websites to Urbs.
Corrections and removal
If a place record is wrong, or it relates to you and you want it removed, email tamas@urbsai.com with the place’s name and location, or its Overture ID from an export. We’ll review it and correct or remove the record in Urbs if it’s wrong or shouldn’t be there. If the error comes from the source, we’ll also tell you how to report it there. We aim to reply within 30 days.
Questions about this page? Email tamas@urbsai.com.