Study: Measuring proximity to services and amenities
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Released: 2021-02-15
Today, Statistics Canada is releasing a paper presenting the methodology used to generate the first nationwide database of proximity measures, and the results obtained with a first set of 10 measures. The paper, titled "Measuring proximity to services and amenities: An experimental set of indicators for neighbourhoods and localities", is available as part of the series Reports on Special Business Projects. The computational methods are presented as a generalizable model because it is now possible to apply similar methods to a multitude of other services or amenities.
The 10 measures presented in the paper and included in the Proximity Measures Database are for proximity to selected services and amenities: employment, grocery stores, pharmacies, health care, child care, primary education, secondary education, public transit, neighbourhood parks, and libraries. In addition, a composite indicator that combines selected measures has also been included in the database in order to assess general availability of services and amenities.
All measures are provided at the level of the dissemination block (DB)—the smallest standard geography used by Statistics Canada, which provides the highest geographic resolution possible at this time. Proximity measures are based on a gravity model that accounts for the distance between a reference DB and all the DBs within a given distance in which the service is available. The proximity measures also take into account the size of services and the presence of services in the reference DB. For each measure, results are presented in terms of the share of population that falls into different ranges of proximity to the service or amenity. Results are tabulated by province, major agglomerations and rural areas.
The Proximity Measures Database is available for download. Developed for this analysis, the Proximity Measures Data Viewer provides access to the level of granular geographic information needed for these measures.
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The paper Measuring proximity to services and amenities: An experimental set of indicators for neighbourhoods and localities is now available as part of the series Reports on Special Business Projects.
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For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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