Geodemographics

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Geodemographics is a means for studying the differences between neighborhoods at a local, regional, or national scale which is useful for the evaluation of social and commercial policies. From modest beginnings in the first half of the twentieth century, the construction of geodemographic systems has developed into a sophisticated apparatus for the multidimensional analysis of large data sets. Contemporary geodemographic classifications incorporate data from commercial, as well as government sources. Geodemographics can benefit users – for example, in healthcare, retail, education, and policing – by allowing resources to be allocated with greater efficiency or effectiveness. However the approach is not without its critics, who have objected on both ethical and methodological grounds. Important ethical questions concern the propriety of using data about individuals in potentially discriminatory ways, while the methods could be viewed as a static and homogeneous representation of a dynamic and heterogeneous population. In spite of these drawbacks, the article will argue that geodemographics is a topic of considerable academic and practical importance.

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