# The layers London keeps

> Culture, listed buildings, heritage at risk and tree registers preserve four very different versions of place.

- Category: Place and memory
- Canonical: [https://londongraph.com/story/the-layers-london-keeps](https://londongraph.com/story/the-layers-london-keeps)
- Machine-readable record: [https://londongraph.com/data/story/the-layers-london-keeps](https://londongraph.com/data/story/the-layers-london-keeps)
- Latest contributing release: 2026-07-31T23:59:07.787Z

Official designation, cultural-venue records and local tree registers do not measure what residents value most. They show what institutions have recorded, protected or funded—and where their coverage thins.

## Evidence

### Recorded cultural venues

Cultural venues in the GLA inventory aggregated by borough.

- Current computed headline: Camden — 154 cultural venues (Camden)
- Hackney: 150 cultural venues
- Release: not labelled
- Dataset: `culture-boroughs`
- Explore: [cultural-boroughs](https://londongraph.com/g/cultural-boroughs)

### Listed heritage

Nationally listed entries aggregated by borough.

- Current computed headline: Westminster — 4,014 listed buildings (Westminster)
- Camden: 1,968 listed buildings
- Release: not labelled
- Dataset: `listed-by-borough`
- Explore: [where-protection-concentrates](https://londongraph.com/g/where-protection-concentrates)

### Heritage at risk

Published at-risk entries aggregated by borough.

- Current computed headline: Hillingdon — 45 entries on the register (Hillingdon)
- Kensington and Chelsea: 43 entries on the register
- Release: not labelled
- Dataset: `heritage-at-risk`
- Explore: [where-heritage-is-losing](https://londongraph.com/g/where-heritage-is-losing)

### Recorded trees

Trees present in contributing local registers, not a canopy census.

- Current computed headline: Enfield — 109,897 trees maintained (Enfield)
- Ealing: 67,328 trees maintained
- Release: not labelled
- Dataset: `trees-by-borough`
- Explore: [what-each-borough-has-counted](https://londongraph.com/g/what-each-borough-has-counted)
- Caveat: Register coverage differs sharply between boroughs.

## Interpretation

Every source reflects institutional definitions and uneven recording coverage. Counts are not measures of cultural worth, neighbourhood quality or ecological abundance.

Every numerical claim is computed from the current versioned datasets at render time. Missing data is reported as missing rather than replaced.

## Sources

- [GLA Cultural Infrastructure Map](https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/cultural-infrastructure-map-2ko88/)
- [Planning Data (MHCLG)](https://www.planning.data.gov.uk/)
- [GLA / GiGL](https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/local-authority-maintained-trees/)