Abstract
Geodemographics is a tool to summarize the characteristics of spatial units based on socio-economic data. It has been used over several decades to classify the characteristics of areas based on the similarities in such data, generally working by identifying groups or clusters of similar areas. It has seen use in the academic and private sectors but mostly became popular by 1980s for market research purposes – this rise in use drew attention to many issues that needed to be addressed in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to provide a geodemographic classification for the smallest scale administrative units in Ireland (Small Areas) based on the latest 2016 census population data. A further aim is to support reproducible research by following the methodology of an earlier study for the 2011 Census and to bring up the opportunity to compare the cluster results between the 2011 and 2016 census data. The comparison output provides useful insights for policy discussions in the Irish context. One of the other focal points of this study is to bring some clarity regarding some criticisms of geodemographics from an academic perspective. The paper also argues for the use of open data, open source software and supports open analysis.
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Acknowledgements
This paper has emanated from research conducted with the financial support of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under Grant Number 15/IA/3090. We would also like to thank the two anonymous referees for the helpful comments on the earlier version of this paper.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 – Cluster characteristic cards
Group 1
The main economic activities of this group are construction and agriculture. The high numbers of car ownership rate, septic tank usage and number of rooms per household are some of the main characteristics of this group and they are much higher than Dublin average. This group has the highest number of small areas and second highest population percentage (18.3%). From a spatial perspective, this group will be highly distributed in the counties and none in cities.
Group 2
The composition of the households is around the middle age groups with two or more cars. Living in slightly bigger houses probably with septic tank facility. The tendency of the households in this group are more working from home. Group 2 consists the highest population compared to other groups (20.8%). Cork County, Galway County and Donegal County are the locations with the highest spatial distribution of this group.
Group 3
Household composition in this group is mostly young families with dependent children. Employment rates are high. From a population perspective 16.4% of Ireland are residents of this group which is the third highest in rank. Fingal, South Dublin, Kildare and Cork County are the areas where this group is highly concentrated.
Group 4
The composition of the households is mostly a combination of separated people, people living on their own and people over the age of 65. Unemployment rate is quite high, and the health conditions of the households are particularly bad. This group’s spatial concentration is high in Cork county, Tipperary and Donegal and very low in Dun Laoghaire. 10.4% of population of Ireland is in this cluster.
Group 5
The composition of the population in this group is mostly elderly households; either families with nondependent children or people who are living alone. The percentage of the pensioners in this group is higher than the other groups and Dublin. Based on the households’ declarations who are part of this group, their health conditions are not good. 14% of inhabitants are part of this group in Ireland. Dublin with its four local authorities (Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire, South Dublin and Fingal) has the 64.5% of the small areas assigned to this group.
Group 6
This group is consisting separated people and single parents. The unemployment rate is high, and the health conditions of people are low. In this group households are mainly renting their houses from local authorities. This group holds the 9% of the total population. Dublin city has the highest spatial concentration of this group followed by South Dublin.
Group 7
Households in this group are mostly pre-families. Young couples both employed and with no children is one of the main characteristics of this group. The general tendency among the households in this group is to rent from private landlords and specially to rent flats. The composition of the population is based on international households mostly born out of Europe and Ireland. This group has 5.9% of population which spatially gathered in Dublin (63.3%).
Group 8
One of the noticeable characteristics of this group is higher education levels. The mean value of the higher education quality is over the Dublin average. The households who are part of this group are highly participating in using public transport to travel to work. The house type that the households are living in are mostly flats and rental. Double income households with no kids are the other property of this group that emerges. Compared to other groups small part of the population is residing in this group (5.2%) but high part of the small areas assigned to this group are in Dublin (78.1%) – Dublin city (52.3%), Dun Laoghaire (15.2%), Fingal (5.6%). Cork city and Galway city are the other spots that this group is highly concentrated. On the other hand, counties like Cavan, Longford, Monaghan, Tipperary and Leitrim do not show any characteristics related to this group.
Appendix 2 – Variables
Variable | Census Theme | Description | Analysis Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
Age0_4 | Sex, Age and Marital Status | Age 0 to 4 | Demographic |
Age5_14 | Sex, Age and Marital Status | Age 5 to 14 | Demographic |
Age25_44 | Sex, Age and Marital Status | Age 25 to 44 | Demographic |
Age45_64 | Sex, Age and Marital Status | Age 45 to 64 | Demographic |
Age65over | Sex, Age and Marital Status | Age 65 and over | Demographic |
EU_National | Migration, Ethnicity, Religion and Foreign Languages | EU Nationality | Demographic |
ROW_National | Migration, Ethnicity, Religion and Foreign Languages | Nationality - Rest of world | Demographic |
Born_outside_Ireland | Migration, Ethnicity, Religion and Foreign Languages | Birthplace out of Ireland | Demographic |
Separated | Sex, Age and Marital Status | Separated and Divorced | Household Composition |
SinglePerson | Sex, Age and Marital Status | 1 person households | Household Composition |
Pensioner | Families | Retired households | Household Composition |
LoneParent | Families | One parent family with children | Household Composition |
DINK | Families | Pre-family | Household Composition |
NonDependentKids | Families | Families with youngest child aged 20 and over | Household Composition |
RentPublic | Housing | Rented from private landlord | Housing |
RentPrivate | Housing | Rented from Local Authority | Housing |
Flats | Housing | Flat/apartment | Housing |
NoCenHeat | Housing | No central heating | Housing |
RoomsHH | Housing | Average no. of rooms for household | Housing |
PeopleRoom | Housing | Average no. of people for room | Housing |
SepticTank | Housing | Individual septic tank | Housing |
HEQual | Education | Higher education - including bachelor, postgraduate, doctorate | Socio Economic |
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Yazgi Walsh, B., Brunsdon, C. & Charlton, M. Open Geodemographics: Classification of Small Areas, Ireland 2016. Appl. Spatial Analysis 14, 51–79 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-020-09343-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-020-09343-6