Access to UK Census Data for Access to UK Census Data for Spatial Analysis: Towards an Spatial Analysis: Towards an Integrated Census Support Integrated Census Support ServiceServiceJohn Stillwell1, Justin Hayes2, Rob Dymond-Green2, James Reid3, Oliver Duke-Williams4, Adam Dennett4 and Jo Wathan2

1 University of Leeds; 2 University of Manchester ; 3

University of Edinburgh; 4 University College London

Presentation at the CUPUM 2013 Conference, University of Utrecht, 2-5 July 2013

PresentationPresentation1. The importance of census data for urban

sustainability2. Types of census data3. Web-based census data delivery services4. Example of using census data for ethnic research in

London5. Integration of Census Support within the UK Data

Service 6. Issues and challenges

1. Importance of the Census1. Importance of the Census• There is no population registration system in the UK• Decadal censuses are critically important for providing: (i) rich socio-demographic data for small areas (in cities):

populations and households (comprehensive geographical coverage)

(ii) denominators for the calculation of rates of non- census variables: e.g. mortality, crime, or poverty, … for small areas(iii) baseline populations for mid-year population estimates for local authorities (and wards) which are used by central government to allocate financial resources to local authorities, health care providers, police and other local service providers

Census small area hierarchy, 2011

Leeds2,543 Output areas

482 Lower Super Output Areas

107 Middle Super Output Areas

33 Merged Wards

Ethnic composition of inner Leeds: Pakistani and Bangladeshi population concentrations

Pakistani Bangladeshi

Source: 2001 Census

2. Types of Census Data2. Types of Census Data• Aggregate statistics: Area counts, usually of individuals

or households with particular characteristics; e.g. males aged 20-24 living in Leeds

• Boundary data: Digital boundaries of census areas at different spatial scales: OAs, SOAs, wards, districts, ….

• Flow data: Origin/Destination Statistics, the flows of migrants and workers between and within areas

• Micro data: Individual level data; large samples of census records known as the Samples of Anonymised Records (SARs)

• Other products: e.g. geographical look-up tables; commissioned tables; longitudinal data (data for individuals that are linked between successive censuses together with data for various events)

Census Agencies: National Statistical Authorities

National Records of Scotland(NRS)

Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Northern IrelandStatistics and Research Agency (NISRA)

3. Web-based census data services3. Web-based census data servicesData are delivered to the user community through a set of tools that have been developed over a decade as part of the Census Programme:

InFuse: access 2001 Census aggregate data for England and Wales by selecting topics, categories within topics, and geographic areas

Casweb: provides access to UK aggregate data for the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses

Easy Download: most regularly requested census boundaries available as ready-to-use national datasets in popular formats

Boundary Data Selector: lets the user select the boundaries you want, for the area you want, in the format you want

Postcode Directory Download: allows user to download complete versions of current and historical postcode directories (sometimes referred to as look-up tables)

Geoconvert: geography matching and conversion tool. Obtain and manipulate complex geographical and postcode

WICID (Web-based Interface to Census Interaction Data): allows users to select and download migration and journey-to-work flow data

InFuse: Filtering facilityUsers choose topics or combinations of topics e.g. ethnic group:

Boundary Data Selector: What and Where?

Users select the•Country•Type of boundaries•Time period

In this case, wardsfor 2001 have been selected under Boundaries, and wards of Greater London have been selected under Area(s) of interest

The data format chosen is ESRI shape file

WICID: Data selection page

User has begun to build a query by selecting counts of persons by each of the different ethnic groups …..

… and will go on to select origins and destinations

a q

4. Example: Using census data for ethnic research in 4. Example: Using census data for ethnic research in London: London: Population distributions, 2001

Ethnic populations ofBoroughs of Greater London by ethnic group – drawn from 2001 Census Area statistics (via InFuse) and borough boundaries (via Boundary Data Selector)

Source: Stillwell, J. (2010) Internal migration propensities and patterns of London’s ethnic groups, In Stillwell, J. et al., (eds.) Technologies for Migration and Commuting Analysis, IGI Global, Hershey

Using census data for ethnic research in London: Ward net migration balances, Whites

Net migration within London Net migration with rest of GB

These net migration balances have been derived from migrationflow data derived from ONS Commissioned Tables (via WICID) and ward boundaries for London boroughs (via Boundary data Selector)Source: Stillwell, J. (2010) Ethnic population concentration and net

migration in London, Environment and Planning A, 42: 1439-1456.

5. Integration of Census Support within the UK Data Service 5. Integration of Census Support within the UK Data Service

UK Data Service

Census Support

(CS)

Other data services

CensusLongitudinal Studies

CEN

SUS

PR

OG

RAM

ME

UK D

ATA ARCHIVE

UK DATA ARCHIVE

UK Data Service website: http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/

UKDS Census Support website: http://census.ukdataservice.ac.uk/

Access to aggregate data (via InFuse)

6. Issues and Challenges6. Issues and Challenges• Transfer of census databases and software systems held

at Manchester and Edinburgh to new windows platform at Essex

• Integration of CS services with other data services at Essex

• Cultural integration of CS staff and procedures with UK Data Service ‘juggernaut’

• Ownership of intellectual property rights• Opening up the CS services to all users (i.e. users

beyond the academic sector in the UK), driven by new Open Government Licencing (OGL)

• Development of a new ‘integrated data access’ (IDA) tool• Responding to ‘Beyond 2011’ with likelihood that there will

be no further censuses

Acknowledgements

• The UK Data Service: Census Support is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council with contributions from the University of Leeds, the University of Manchester, the University of Edinburgh and University College London

Questions

Contact details:

John Stillwell

j.c.h.stillwell@leeds.ac.uk