This paper reviews the automated zone-design procedures adopted for the creation of 2001 Census output geography in the United Kingdom. A microsimulation approach is used for the creation of household records to populate actual postcode and enumeration district boundaries, and a series of output area design scenarios are applied to these data, allowing the effects of the new design constraints to be evaluated. The authors identify the advantages of using an intra-area correlation measure for the maximization of social homogeneity within output areas, and explore the differences between the 1991 and 2001 approaches to output geography.
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