Square Km Grid System: An Efficient Database in Rural Studies
Abstract
Census data have been available in Finland from 1970 onwards based on 1 x 1 km grid squares identified by latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates as the areal units, as well as the various administrative units. Although this statistical unit has been in existence for some time, it is only in the last few years, with increased computer capacity and the development of geographical software, that it has become possible to exploit the spatial information provided by it. This paper compares results obtained using the new areal unit with those of earlier research and employs GIS techniques to arrive at a definition of a rural area. Experience with the use of this areal unit has been encouraging, especially as it permits more detailed deduction of spatial structures and changes occurring therein. It allows the rural areas of Finland to be studied in a manner that is independent of administrative boundaries, and in this way provides more precise information on rural structure and the future of rural life in Finland. At the same time, interpretation of this material raises problems of a new kind, for the accuracy of the data unit means that deduction of the spatial structure is a more complicated matter than that using traditional units such as the commune.
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