Version: 1.0.0 | Published: 8 May 2025 | Updated: 429 days ago
Temporal OAC
Dataset
Summary
Description:
The 2001-2011 Temporal Output Area Classification (Temporal OAC or TOAC) is a geodemographic classification for the 2011 Output Areas in England.
Access Tier:
Open
Contact Point:
Documentation
Documentation:
The 2001-2011 Temporal Output Area Classification (Temporal OAC or TOAC) is a geodemographic classification for the 2011 Output Areas in England.
A geodemographic classification provides a set of categorical summaries of the built and socio-economic characteristics of small geographic areas. Many such classifications are created entirely from data extracted from a single census of population. Such classifications can be considered to become less useful over time (e.g. later in the intervening period between decennial censuses) because of the changing composition of small geographic areas.
TOAC is a result of a project that utilises an innovative methodology that classifies both 2001 and 2011 census data inputs utilising a unified geography and set of attributes to create a classification that spans both census periods. Using this classification, it is possible to examine the temporal stability of the clusters and whether other secondary data sources and internal measures might usefully indicate local uncertainties in such a classification during an intercensal period.
## Content
The data is available for download below, in Shapefile format. A data summary and variable dictionaries are also available.
## Quality, Representation and Bias
A journal article accompanies TOAC which provides a thorough evaluation and methodological detail. All data used for this classification were sourced from the 2001 - 2011 Census so are bound by the usual operational quality / representation and bias of a national census. The geodemographic classification created presents a best effort of the authors to represent the characteristics of the population and geographic context over time, however, there are decisions made during the classification process that guide these representations. For a full overview of these decisions and their rationale, see the published paper.
Coverage
Spatial
Spatial Coverage:
England
Temporal
Start Date:
01 April 2001
End Date:
30 April 2011
Frequency:
DECENNIAL
Date of First Release:
16 December 2024
Provenance
Origin
Source:
Office for National Statistics
Collection Situation:
OA11CD
Author 1
Family Name Person:
Singleton
Given Name Person:
Alex
Author 2
Family Name Person:
Pavlis
Given Name Person:
Michail
Author 3
Family Name Person:
Nguyen
Given Name Person:
Hai
Author 4
Family Name Person:
Alexiou
Given Name Person:
Alexandros
Access and Governance
Access
Access Service:
The data for this research have been provided by the Geographic Data Service (geods.ac.uk), a Smart Data Research UK Investment: ES/Z504464/1.
Data Controller:
Alex Singleton
Licence:
UK Open Government Licence (OGL)
Format and Standards
Format:
- ZIP
- CSV
- HTML