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Developing intermediate zones for analysing the social geography of Auckland, New Zealand
Author(s) -
Zhao Jinfeng,
Exeter Daniel J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
new zealand geographer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1745-7939
pISSN - 0028-8144
DOI - 10.1111/nzg.12110
Subject(s) - homogeneity (statistics) , data science , boundary (topology) , explanatory power , geography , computer science , cartography , machine learning , mathematics , mathematical analysis , philosophy , epistemology
This paper describes the creation of two new geographical boundary files, known respectively as lower zones and upper zones, for investigating social phenomena and visualising disparities in health outcomes in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. We test the effectiveness of contemporary automated zone design tools before applying an interactive approach which integrated computational power with expert local knowledge and visual interpretation to develop meaningful zones. We demonstrate that an interactive approach addresses multiple zone design criteria (e.g. respecting physical barriers, compactness and homogeneity) more effectively than is possible with an automated approach.