The Central European Economic and Demographic Database (C2E2D) project aims to develop a geo-demographic database with standardized features allowing for direct comparisons between countries. Geox Ltd will rely on its expertise and know-how accumulated while developing GeoIndex, a geo-demographic map, which has been available as a product for the Hungarian market for over a decade.
C2E2D will used the same methodology to develop a regional geo-demographic map based on available open sources to match the structure of GeoIndex, making use of its own readily available methodology and considering the availability of the various data sources in the region, the following group of indicators are proposed:
- Territorial data (spatial references to describe the cells, town, area code, etc.);
- Population characteristics (geo-demographic indicators, derived indexes from primary geo-demographic data, primary income data and derived indexes);
- Physical attributes of residential environment (complex indicators covering the entire area, as well as indexes, such as tourism index, pedestrian index, centrality index, public transport index, etc.)
We plan to primarily use data from local state data providers (statistical offices, population census bureaus) as they can provide the most detailed demographic data. Where address level demographic data is not available we plan to convert the Inspire GRID 1 km2 population data to 100*100 m cells using the built environment (OpenStreetMap) and land cover features. (Corine land cover).
Given the varying degree of availability and quality of data in the target countries we plan to produce the planned indexes in a differentiated spatial resolution:
:
- 100*100 m
- 500*000 m
- 1000*1000 m
The 1000*1000 m resolution aligns with the existing European population grid providing a link to EUROSTAT’s standard database.
The indicators and indexes will be produced using freely available data sources (EUROSTAT, OpenStreetMap, Corine). All of the development fits in with Geox’s core activities, so the project will not necessitate any additional investments, as we already have all the software and other tools needed for the tasks.
In the current phase we are planning on developing the following indicators:
- Geo-demographic indicators:
o population,
o population by age groups,
o demographic indexes (dependency ratios, old age index)
o per capita income
- Environmental indicators
o Area use
o Built environment (based on population density)
o City centrality index
o Pedestrian traffic
o Tourism index
We plan to primarily use open sources for the city centrality type and income indicators. Given that income data at this spatial level is not available in in any of the target countries we will provide estimates using the methodology developed for the Hungarian 100*100 m database. For the city center indicators we will use globally available open source data.
We will provide end users with the algorithm of the various grids used enabling them to enrich the data with their own data sources. The product will use standard projections and formats, so it will be easy to integrate with any GIS or BI tool equipped to handle geographic data.
Geox Ltd. Has over twenty years of experience in producing and maintaining geo-demographic databases. It has already demonstrated its professional qualifications to develop Central European Economic and Demographic Database (C2E2D through the Geoindex product developed for Hungary.
Geox Ltd. Estimates, based on its own market research, that the most important target groups for C2E2D will come from retail chains, hospitality, as well as gas station, or electric charging station operators. C2E2D will provide insights in location planning and estimating business potential of existing locations. Online retail will likely also be an important area of use for C2E2D
