Between County and Block Group

Between the county and block group levels – one too general, the other often too detailed. For many analytical tasks, an in-between layer is just what the doctor ordered. So, is there a goldilocks solution? There are four primary choices of standard geographies...

The Politicization of Census Data

Prior to the 2020 census, there was considerable debate about the politicization of the census through the proposed question on immigration status. The ultimate decision by the Supreme Court to disallow the question was largely because of the concern that the accuracy...

Does Money Make You Happy?

In the Panorama segmentation system, the most affluent segments are assigned to the lowest numbers with 01 One Percenters holding the top spot for affluence. Does money translate into happiness, or at least a better quality of life? To answer that question, we...

In Memory of a Mentor and Friend

This week, I read with considerable sadness of the passing of an old friend and mentor, Tony Lea. As many will know, Tony was an integral part of the success of Environics Analytics in Toronto over the past two decades. I first met Tony some forty years ago when I...
Spatial Time Series Analysis

Spatial Time Series Analysis

One of the more persistent issues in geospatial analysis is that of consistency in time series analysis. We can’t help but want to compare the growth of one city against another over time. Time is the easy part – a year today is the same as a year in millennia past,...