North American Geodemographics

Open or free geodemographics have a lineage in the UK that is not mirrored in the US. As such this research project has utilised the American Community Survey to develop an open source geodemographic classification.

The classification is firmly rooted in the social scientific literature and is organized around conceptual framework of Concepts, Domains, and Measures. This classification aims to add nuance to our vocabulary for American communities and overcomes some of the problems now associated with univariate analysis of census tract data. We hope that by making the classification completely transparent and open source it can be refined and adapted over time. 

Spielman, S. and Singleton, A. (2015). Studying Neighborhoods Using Uncertain Data from the American Community Survey: A Contextual Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 105(5):1003–1025.

Singleton, A. and Spielman, S. (2013). The Past, Present and Future of Geodemographic Research in the United States and United Kingdom. Professional Geographer, 66(4):558– 567.