Non-Market Housing in Vancouver


Data Collection

The majority of my data was obtained from the local hard drive (the S: Drive).  All of the data from the S: Drive was either in ArcView Shapefile format or in IDRISI Vector or Raster format.  The data in Shapefile format was converted into IDRISI Vector format by Importing it using the ESRI SHAPEIDR format.  Other data was obtained from the City of Vancouver's website and the GVRD website.  While the both websites provided me with very valuable background knowledge, the City of Vancouver also provided me with valuable numerical data that I was able add into new fields.  Information on where Skytrain stations are located (Expo and Millennium lines) was obtained from Translink's website.  Using written descriptions of Skytrain station locations in combination with the Translink map, I was able to digitize the correct locations onto one of my layers.

City of Vancouver:   www.city.bc.ca/commsvcs/housing/
GVRD: www.gvrd.bc.ca/services/housing/index.html and www.gvrd.bc.ca/homelessness/index.html
Translink: www.translink.bc.ca/Service_Info_and_Fares/SkyTrain/Stations/Vancouver.asp and www.translink.bc.ca/files/sys_maps/Vancouver.pdf

Data Quality

City of Vancouver data:  These data are in Shapefile format and was created by Peter Schaub for his Geography 354 Project in 2000.  His data were collected from the Canada Census (1996) and the City of Vancouver (1996-1999).  He also digitized much of the data himself.  Errors in the data would include the positional accuracy (from errors in digitizing), and any degrees of error in the statistical collection of the data by the Canada Census and the City of Vancouver.  The data that was used in this project were the planning subdivisions (dotarea.shp) and it is projected in UTM Grid 10N, in meters and using the NAD83 datum.

GVRD data:  These data are in IDRISI Vector and Raster format and have very little metadata documentation associated with them.  Data that I used for my analysis include major roads, the Skytrain route, city boundaries, and landuse types.  All of these projections are in UTM Grid 10N, in meters and using the NAD83 datum.  The major roads and the city boundaries were obtained from the 1991 census, while the landuse types were obtained from the GVRD in 1995 and the Skytrain route was obtained from Translink in 1997.  Due to the lack of metadata, the accuracy of the data in unknown.  The major streets layer and the Skytrain layer were used together to determine the locations of Skytrain stations.

Other errors in the data are temporal.  Because much of the data were obtained between 1996 and 1999, population statistics may not be accurate to date.  For, example, average household income may have changed between 1999 and 2002, or the landuse may have changed over the same time period.  For the purpose of my analysis, such changes are likely not going to make a large difference in my outcome.  In addition, the points (skytrain station locations) that I had digitized myself may contain locational errors.  Although they were digitized to the best of my ability, errors may arise due to human error and the scale and resolution on the data.


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