Presentation given as part of an ESRC UK Data Service webinar providing an introduction to web applications which can be used to download geospatial datasets produced as outputs from the 2011 UK Census.

1. Census update webinar:
Census Geography Tools
James Crone
Webinar
24th July 2013

2. Welcome
An introduction…
James Crone
UK Data Service
EDINA GeoServices
University of Edinburgh

3. During the webinar today you will see examples of how online
tools provided through Census Support can be used to:

search for and download digital boundary datasets

create shaded choropleth map visualizations of 2011
census data

make selections from ONS postcode directories and
create custom lookups to geographies held by Census
Support
Welcome

4. What is the UK Data Service?
• a comprehensive resource funded by the ESRC
• a single point of access to a wide range of secondary
social science data
• support, training and guidance

5. Who is it for?
• academic researchers and students
• government analysts
• charities and foundations
• business consultants
• independent research centres
• think tanks
ukdataservice.ac.uk

6. What is Census Support?
• access to, and user support for, data from the last five
UK population censuses (1971 – 2011)
• download of census data earlier than 2001 through
Census Support is currently restricted to UK academic
users.
census.ukdataservice.ac.uk

7. Poll
Have you used census data before?
• No
• Yes, for the UK
• Yes, for outside the UK

8. Quick Introduction to the
Census and Census Data

9. What is a census?
“The total process of collecting, compiling, evaluating,
analysing and publishing demographic, economic and
social data pertaining at a specified time, to all persons
in a country or well delimited parts of the country”
United Nations (1998)

10. Household census questions
• accommodation type – house or flat?
• own or rent?
• how many rooms?

11. Individual census questions
• male or female?
• age?
• country of birth?
• health?

12. What sort of output data is produced?

13. Digital Boundaries / Aggregate Data
Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012

14. Census Support Geography Tools
Boundary Data Selector: Select the boundary data you want, for
the area you want, in the format you want.
Easy Download: The most regularly requested census boundaries
available as ready-to-use national datasets in popular formats.
Thematic Mapper: Create choropleth thematic maps from your
own uploaded CSV files.
Postcode Directory Download: Download complete versions of
current and historical postcode directories.
Postcode Data Selector: Download subsets of the postcode data
that you want from postcode directories released between 2001
and the present day.
GeoConvert: Geography matching and conversion tool.

15. Download digital boundaries using
Census Support Boundary Data Selector

16. Census Support Boundary Data Selector
Features of Boundary Data Selector:
• Access to more than 400 boundary datasets held by
Census Support
• As well as core census boundaries, a wide range of other
geographies available
• Output datasets to various data formats

17. Using Census Support Boundary Data
Selector
1. Search for and select boundary dataset to
download from Census Support.
2. Take complete dataset or select only the
features you need.
3. Pick output
format to download
boundary data in.

18. Boundary Data Selector Demo
Use Boundary Data Selector to search for and download
2011 Lower Layer Super Output Areas for Nottingham in
KML format which we`ll then look at in Google Earth.
On with the DEMO!

19. The Choropleth Map – visualize small
area aggregate (census) data
Contains National Statistics data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright and database right 2012
Proportion of people working more
than 49 hours per week (2011
Census)

20. Thematic Mapper can be used to create
choropleth maps from CSV census data.

21. Census Support Thematic Mapper
Features of Thematic Mapper:
• Create Choropleth maps from uploaded CSV file. No GIS
required!
• Uses boundaries held by Census Support
• Wizard driven data-upload process
• Backdrop Ordnance Survey basemaps
• Maps can be exported to a shapefile for subsequent offline
use

22. Thematic Mapper Demo -
Use Thematic Mapper to create a choropleth map of
proportions of travel to work by tram for Nottingham as
recorded in the 2011 Census (Aggregate 2011 Census
Data downloaded from Census Support InFuse)
On with
the
Demo!
Use Thematic Mapper to create a choropleth map of
proportions of travel to work by tram for Nottingham as
recorded in the 2011 Census (Aggregate 2011 Census
Data downloaded from Census Support InFuse)

23. Poll
Which of these do you know for your home?
• Census 2011 Output Area Code
• Grid Reference
• Postcode

24. Georeferencing by Postcode

25. ONS Postcode Directory (ONSPD)
Different ways to write
postcode
Postcode Metadata e.g.
when introduced / retireda
Postcode
Location
a
Geographies
(GeoIDs) which
postcode located
within including
2001/11 census
~ 2.5 Million Records in latest ONSPD
Lookups to 40 or so geographies.

26. Census Support Postcode Data Selector
used to download postcode data

27. Slice up a postcode directory

28. Features of Postcode Data Selector
• Make selections from ONSPD`s
• Access to most quarterly updates of ONSPD released
since 2001
• In addition add custom lookups to ANY geography held by
UK Data Service Census Support as a boundary dataset.

29. Postcode Data Selector Demo
Use Postcode Data Selector to extract all postcodes within
postcode sector NG9 1 with lookups to 2011/2001
Output Areas, 1991 Enumeration Districts (std fields) and
1981/1971 Enumeration Districts (custom Census
Support look-ups)
On with the DEMO!

30. What we`ve seen today

Boundary Data Selector

Thematic Mapper

Postcode Data Selector

31. Census Support Help
ukdataservice.ac.uk/help