Developing a National Geodemographic Classification of Workplace Zones

Geodemographics conventionally refers to the classification of geographical areas based on the socioeconomic characteristics of their residents. In this paper, we develop the novel concept of a classification based on the characteristics of workers and workplaces. The paper describes the implementation of this concept at the small area level for the whole of the UK, which has involved reconciliation of three slightly different national censuses. It presents a summary of the resulting classification (a Classification of Workplace Zones for the UK (COWZ-UK)) and an innovative validation exercise based on comparison with a very large digital mapping dataset containing specific workplace locations. The openly available classification provides important new insights into the characteristics of workers and workplaces at the small area level across the UK, which will be useful for analysts in a range of sectors, including health, local government, transport and commerce. The generic concept of a classification based on the characteristics of workers and workplaces within a set of workplace zones is transferable to other countries, with refinement to reflect context- and country-specific phenomena. The concept can be readily implemented by census agencies or other data providers where individual level worker and workplace data are available.