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9 The SHS urban /rural classification
9.1 The urban/rural classification shown in the tables was developed for use in analysing the results of the SHS. It is based on settlement sizes, and (for the less-populated areas) the estimated time that would be taken to drive to a settlement with a population of 10,000 or more. The classification is based on postcodes. First, each postcode in Scotland was classed as either "urban" or "non-urban" on the basis of its "density" (measured in terms of the numbers of [a] residential and [b] non-residential addresses per hectare). Then, clumps of adjacent "urban" postcodes, which together contained more than a certain total number of addresses, were grouped together to form "settlements". (Any apparently "non-urban" postcodes which were entirely surrounded by "urban" postcodes, or by a combination of "urban" postcodes and coastline, were reclassified as "urban", and included in the relevant settlements.)
Chart J: Households by Council area and urban/rural classification: 2005 and 2006
Councils in order of % of households in urban areas
9.2 Six categories were then defined:
- Large urban areas - settlements with populations of 125,000 or more. These are around - but are not the same as - Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Because of the way in which settlements are defined, this category may (a) include some areas outwith the boundaries of these four cities, in cases where the settlements extend into neighbouring local authorities, and (b) exclude some "non-urban" areas within the boundaries of these four cities.
- Other urban areas - other settlements of population 10,000 or more.
- "Accessible" small towns - settlements of between 3,000 and 9,999 people, which are within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000+ people
- "Remote" small towns - settlements of between 3,000 and 9,999 people, which are not within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000+ people
- "Accessible" rural areas - settlements of less than 3,000 people, which are within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000+ people
- "Remote" rural areas - settlements of less than 3,000 people, which are not within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000+ people
9.3 The urban/rural classification used for the SHS data is based on the Settlement file maintained by the General Register Office for Scotland ( GROS), which is revised from time to time (e.g.) to take account of new information becoming available and changes in the method which GROS used to calculate the settlement sizes. Because the SHS is conducted in a series of "two-year sweeps", the urban/rural classifications used for the sweeps are all a little different, with each being based on the latest Settlement file that was available at the time of derivation. The classification used for 2003/2004 was the first to be based on a Settlement file which takes account of the results of the 2001 Census. The extent of Settlement boundaries is not expected to change significantly on a year to year basis. However, from time to time, the estimated population of a settlement will cross one of the thresholds (e.g. increasing from under 10,000 to over 10,000) and this may have a noticeable effect on the percentage of households in some of the categories of the classification.
9.4 Table 24 shows how many sample households in each Council area were counted in each of the categories of the urban/rural classification (a few cases could not be classified by type of area, and a few cases might have been mis-classified). The table, and Chart J, show that most Councils contain more than one type of area. For example, although most of the sample households in the area of the Aberdeen City Council are in a "large urban area", small percentages are in areas classified as "accessible" small towns and "accessible" rural areas. Similarly, Aberdeenshire includes each of the different types of area apart from "large urban area". As a result, there may be some apparent inconsistencies between, say, the figures for (a) rural areas and (b) what might be thought of as "mainly rural" Councils. For example, a percentage could be much higher for one or both of the "rural areas" categories than for any of what might be regarded as "mainly rural" Councils, because each of the latter includes "small town" areas.
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