Rules versus Hierarchy: An Application of Fuzzy Set Theory to the Assessment of Spatial Grouping Techniques

The geography which underpins the collection of Australian economic and social data is based on administrative areas, rather than having behavioural significance. Within most EU countries Coombes' rules-based grouping algorithm [1] which uses commuting flow data has been employed to construct Travel to Work Areas, but other approaches including Intramax (a hierarchical technique) have also been utilised. Recent developments in fuzzy set theory have enabled the comparison of the local accuracy of the solutions associated with different grouping methods. This paper will utilise both the Intramax technique and the modified version of Coombes' updated algorithm [2] to compare the properties of the solutions associated with grouping the Australian Statistical Local Areas using Journey to Work data from the 2006 Census.