An Introduction to 2011 Census Geography

An introduction to 2011 Census geography

James Crone

Webinar

17 May 2013

Welcome

An introduction…

James CroneUK Data Service

EDINA GeoServicesUniversity of Edinburgh

This webinar is one in a series to launch the UK Data Service:

An introduction to data available from the UK Data Service

MONDAY 13 May 2013

Broadening access: Improving the impact of social data

TUESDAY 14 May 2013

Looking after and managing your research data

WEDNESDAY 15 May 2013

UnDISCOVERed riches: Finding and accessing data via the UK Data Service

THURSDAY 16 May 2013

An introduction to 2011 census geography

FRIDAY 17 May 2013

Welcome

What is the UK Data Service?

• a comprehensive resource funded by the ESRC

• a single point of access to a wide range of secondary social science data

• support, training and guidance

Who is it for?

• academic researchers and students

• government analysts

• charities and foundations

• business consultants

• independent research centres

• think tanks

ukdataservice.ac.uk

What is Census Support?

• access to, and user support for, data from the last five UK population censuses (1971 – 2011)

• download of data through Census Support is currently restricted to UK Academic users

census.ukdataservice.ac.uk

Poll

Have you used census data before?

• No

• Yes, for the UK

• Yes, for outside the UK

The 2011 Census and census geography

What is a census?

“The total process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analysing and publishing demographic, economic and social data pertaining at a specified time, to all persons in a country or well delimited parts of the country”

United Nations (1998)

The census in the UK

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Household census questions

• accommodation type – house or flat?

• own or rent?

• how many rooms?

Individual census questions

• male or female?

• age?

• country of birth?

• health?

What sort of output data is produced?

Output census data is geographic

Geographical visualisation / analysis

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Census Output Areas

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Making 2011 output areas

• use where possible 2001 output areas

• built from aggregations of postcodes

• have roughly similar-sized populations

• group together socially similar households

• align with local authority boundaries

• align to road centrelines and railways

2011 Census geography hierarchy

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Different geographic scales

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Poll

Which years have you used UK census data for?

• 1971

• 1981

• 1991

• 2001

• 2011

5 key differences in 2011 Census geography

Difference #1: output area change

97.4% 2.6%

How much output area change?

What kind of output area change (in Leeds)?

Map created by Alex Singleton

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Difference # 2 : open data

You are free to:

• Copy, publish, distribute and transmit the Information

• Adapt the Information

• Exploit the Information commercially

You must, where you do any of the above:

• Acknowledge the source of the information

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Difference #3: workplaces

• Introduction of a Workplace Zones Geography in 2011

Workplace zones vs. output areas

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Contains Ordnance Survey data ©Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Difference # 4: identifiers

Entities + Instances = standard identifers

E00126679 E07000118

Difference # 5: boundary versions

Extent of the Realm boundaries

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Clipped boundaries

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Clipped = more familiar maps

EOR ClippedContains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Generalised boundaries

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

Generalised = reduced file size

Ungeneralised Generalised

125 MB450 MB

Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

2011 Census data in UK Data Service Census Support

UK Data Service Census Support

Poll

Which Census Support applications have you used before?

• InFuse / Casweb

• Easy Download / Boundary Data Selector

• GeoConvert

• Postcode Directory Download

Census Support InFuse

Census Support Boundary Data Selector

Census Support Thematic Mapper

More information

Census2011Geog Project

census2011geog.census.ac.uk

Census Support Help

ukdataservice.ac.uk/help

Forthcoming Census Support training

http://goo.gl/RpYNA