1991 BLOCK-FACE DATA FILE USER GUIDE Geography Division Statistics Canada April 1993 Machine-readable edition compiled University of Toronto Data Library Service Based on: 1991 Block-face data file user guide./ by Statistics Canada. Geography Division. WordPerfect 5.1 ed. Ottawa, Ont. July 1993. DDMS software provided by Health and Welfare Canada 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. INTRODUCTION Coverage Content Reference Date Limitations 2. DATA QUALITY Lineage Positional Accuracy Attribute Accuracy Logical Consistency Completeness 3. INDEX TO VARIABLES 4. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Field Descriptions 5. GLOSSARY OF TERMS Record Layout 6. ADDITIONAL SERVICES TABLES Table 1. Block-face Coverage Table 2. Number of Block-face Records per CMA/CA Table 3. Incomplete Block-face Linkages SUPPLEMENT EA Linkage Errors on the 1991 Geographic Attribute Data Base ARC/INFO is a registered trademark of Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. 1 1. INTRODUCTION This user guide provides information on the coverage, content and data quality of the 1991 Block-face Data File. It also includes a section on technical specifications and a glossary of terms. A supplementary document appears at the end of this user guide. Its purpose is to show the EA linkage errors on the 1991 Geographic Attribute Data Base, which is one of the sources used in generating the Block-face Data File. The Block-face Data File provides attribute information for the smallest geographic entity available from Statistics Canada, namely, the block-face. Coverage Block-faces are available where there is Street Network File (SNF) coverage, that is, for large urban centres containing at least one municipality with a population of 50,000 or more. The Block-face Data File is available for 25 census metropolitan areas (CMA) and 19 census agglomerations (CA). In some cases, only portions of CMAs/CAs are covered by SNF; thus some urban centres may be only partially covered by the Block-face Data File (Table 1). Content The block-face attribute information includes street names (including street types and direction), address ranges, geographic codes, block-face representative points (or in some cases, EA representative points), and 1991 population and dwelling counts. Table 2 provides the total number of block-face records for each CMA/CA. Reference Date All census data reflect the census reference date of June 4, 1991. There is also a Geographic Reference Date for the geographic framework that supports the census. This date is earlier than the census reference date in order to give Statistics Canada enough time before Census Day to process the necessary boundary and name changes. For the 1991 Census, the Geographic Reference Date is January 1, 1991, provided that the information on any changes was received by Statistics Canada from provincial or territorial authorities by March 1, 1991. The block-face attributes and linkages to the standard geographic areas are obtained from four separate sources: the Street Network Files (SNF), the EA Digital Boundary File, the Geographic Attribute Data Base (GADB), and the 1991 Census Data Base. Each source has its own inherent reference date, as follows: - Street Network Files: vary between June 1986 and December 1991 for the network information, and between June 1986 and February 1991 for the address information. - EA Digital Boundary File: January 1, 1991. The EAs that were split on Census Day due to dwelling increases are included in the boundary file. - Geographic Attribute Data Base: January 1, 1991 for the geographic attributes and linkages, and June 4, 1991 for the population and dwelling counts. - 1991 Census Data Base: June 4, 1991. Limitations Some address ranges are assigned to FED, EA and CT codes that are set to zero (0). This occurs because their respective block-face representative points fall outside these geographic areas. Approximately 93% of the population and dwelling counts are linked to block-face representative points; the remaining 7% are linked to EA representative points. Despite the linkage to the 1991 Census, the Street Network Files have not been updated using the information collected during the 1991 Census field operations. Consequently, users should be aware that some streets and attributes have not been added to the Street Network Files. 1 Table 1 Block-face Coverage This list denotes which CMAs and CAs are covered by block-faces, and whether the urban centre is wholly or partially covered by the Block-face Data File. A blank indicates that the entire CMA or CA is covered by the Block-face Data File. CMA/CA Name Coverage CMA/CA Name Coverage *Belleville partial Prince George Brantford Quebec partial Calgary partial Red Deer Chicoutimi-Jonquiere partial Reginapartial Edmonton partial *Saint-Jerome partial *Fredericton partial Saint John partial Guelph Sarnia - Clearwater Halifax partial Saskatoon partial Hamilton Sault Ste. Marie Kamloops partial Sherbrooke partial Kelowna St. Catharines-Niagara Kingston partial St. John's partial Kitchener *Stratford Lethbridge Sudbury partial London Thunder Bay partial Matsqui Toronto partial Moncton Trois-Rivieres partial Montreal partial Vancouver North Bay Victoria Oshawa Windsor partial Ottawa-Hull Winnipeg Peterborough partial *Woodstock Note: The five urban centres denoted with asterisks (*) are covered by provincial census tracts (PCT). The remaining centres are covered by census tracts (CT). 1 Table 2 Number of Block-Face Records per CMA/CA CMA/CA Name Records CMA/CA Name Records Belleville 2,080 Prince George 6,312 Brantford 5,734 Quebec 28,381 Calgary 34,991 Red Deer 3,507 Chicoutimi-Jonquiere 8,667 Regina 11,173 Edmonton 32,814 Saint-Jerome 1,519 Fredericton 2,977 Saint John 5,647 Guelph 4,814 Sarnia-Clearwater 5,648 Halifax 9,361 Saskatoon 10,141 Hamilton 28,108 Sault Ste. Marie 5,071 Kamloops 4,828 Sherbrooke 3,672 Kelowna 7,102 St. Catharines-Niagara30,644 Kingston 4,471 St. John's 4,444 Kitchener 16,472 Stratford 1,771 Lethbridge 4,662 Sudbury 5,205 London 18,785 Thunder Bay 7,254 Matsqui 3,650 Toronto 112,186 Moncton 7,858 Trois-Rivieres 6,512 Montreal 116,612 Vancouver 84,179 North Bay 4,393 Victoria 18,668 Oshawa 12,733 Windsor 11,576 Ottawa - Hull 47,102 Winnipeg 33,270 Peterborough 3,952 Woodstock 1,877 1 2. DATA QUALITY The purpose of a data quality report is to provide detailed information for users to evaluate the suitability of the data or product for a particular use. Five fundamental components of a data quality statement are: lineage, positional accuracy, attribute accuracy, logical consistency and completeness. Since the data for the Block-face Data File were extracted from four distinct files, users should consult the detailed data quality statements for each of the following source files: - Street Network File, User Guide (AMF Format). - 1991 Digital Boundary Files, User Guide. - 1991 Geographic Attribute Data Base, Data Quality Statement. - 1991 Census Data Base. Lineage Lineage includes descriptions of the source material from which the data were derived and the methods of derivation, including the dates of the source material and all transformations involved in producing the final digital files or map products. Source Information The Block-face Data File was derived from the following source files: 1.The Street Network Files (AMF Format) provided the street names (including street types and direction), odd and even address ranges, and the UTM zone number/coordinates of the block-face representative points within the individual CMAs and CAs. The reference date for the network information varies between June 1986 and December 1991, and between June 1986 and February 1991 for the address information. 2.The 1991 EA Digital Boundary File provided the province, federal electoral district (FED) and enumeration area (EA) links to the streets and street attributes. The geographic reference date is January 1, 1991. The EAs that were split on Census Day due to dwelling increases are included in the boundary file. 3.The 1991 Geographic Attribute Data Base provided the names, codes and linkages for the geographic areas, and the UTM zone number/coordinates of the EA representative points. The reference date is January 1, 1991. 4.The 1991 Census Data Base provided the population and dwelling counts. The reference date is June 4, 1991. Method of Derivation Various SAS computer programs (IBM mainframe-based) were used to extract, compile and verify the information. The first program used the Street Network Files to extract the street attribute information and the block-face representative points. An ARC/INFO~ point-in-polygon algorithm was used on the EA Digital Boundary File to determine which SNF block-face representative points fell within the individual EAs; this in turn provided the province, FED and EA linkages to the block-face representative points. The extracted information from the SNF and EA Digital Boundary File was then merged, which resulted in the linkage of province, FED and EA codes to the street attributes. The Geographic Attribute Data Base supplied the other necessary linkages and names/codes for the standard geographic areas, as well as the EA representative points. An in-house STATPAK retrieval program extracted the population and dwelling counts from the 1991 Census Data Base. The counts were then linked to either block-face or EA representative points. Block-face representative points are computed within all Street Network Files along addressable streets and addressable sections of highways. The representative point is located at the mid- point of the block-face, set back a perpendicular distance of 22 metres from the street centre line. EA representative points within Street Network Files are located by an automated method using ARC/INFO~ GIS software, which locates the point suitable for label or symbol placement in each polygon. Various automated and manual methodologies were used to link the households (and thus the population and dwelling counts) to block-faces and EAs. Approximately 81% of the households were directly linked to addresses by census enumerators in the field. An automated Address Register program then linked these addresses to the block-face. A further 12% of the households involved a manual and subjective process; addresses were linked to block- faces by Statistics Canada staff who rationalized the information by examining census collection reference material (such as Visitation Records, EA collection maps and SNF street indexes). The remaining 7% of the households were linked to EAs because overseas population and other households could not be specifically linked to block-faces due to insufficient or missing address information, or to missing streets on the Street Network Files. Positional Accuracy Positional accuracy is the difference between the "true" position of a feature in the real world and the "estimated" position stored in the digital file or other product. Due to the computation method, block-face representative points may not be unique. For example, perpendicular block-faces of equal length may be assigned representative points having the same coordinate values. In addition, there are 130 block-face representative points -- although having the correct CD/CSD code -- that fall outside the CD/CSD in which they should be located. This occurs because of the 22 metre rule to locate the points. Attribute Accuracy Attribute accuracy refers to the accuracy of the non-positional information attached to each feature. The Block-face Data File reflects the accuracy of the Street Network Files from which street attributes were extracted, the 1991 Geographic Attribute Data Base from which the names and codes of geographic areas were extracted, and the 1991 Census Data Base from which population and dwelling counts were extracted. No edits were performed on the extracted data from these source files. For further information on the accuracy of the population and dwelling counts at the EA level, please refer to the data quality statement in Supplementary Tables, Population and Dwelling Counts, Enumeration Areas (Reference D9133, pp. 4-7). The accuracy of population and dwelling counts at the block-face level is related to the methodology used to link the households to block-faces. For the 130 block-face representative points that fall outside the CD/CSD in which they should be located, the FED, EA and CT codes and population and dwelling counts are set to zero. Table 3 shows the number of incomplete block-face linkages for the affected CMAs and CAs. Population and dwelling counts are also set to zero when two block-face representative points have the same coordinate values. In these cases, the aggregated counts for the two block-faces are assigned to one block-face; the other block-face count is set to zero. Table 3 : Incomplete Block-face Linkages CMA/CA Number Calgary 9 Halifax 1 Hamilton 8 Kelowna 6 Kingston 1 Kitchener 3 London 1 Montreal 19 Ottawa - Hull 5 Quebec 4 Regina 6 St. Catharines-Niagara 3 Toronto 2 Vancouver 58 Victoria 3 Winnipeg 1 _____ TOTAL 130 Logical Consistency Logical consistency describes the fidelity of relationships encoded in the data structure of the digital spatial data (i.e. how well elements of the data structure follow the rules imposed on them). A post census verification confirmed that the PROV/FED/EA linkages were consistent with the Geographic Attribute Data Base and the extracted information from the EA Digital Boundary File. All EA representative points are guaranteed by an ARC/INFO~ topology check to fall within the appropriate EA. Completeness Completeness expresses the degree to which geographic entities (features) are captured according to the data capture specifications. It also includes information about selection criteria, definitions used and other relevant mapping rules. The Block-face Data File does not provide information for those parts of CMAs or CAs outside Street Network File coverage. The file contains street attributes, codes and linkages to standard geographic areas, and population and dwelling counts for 769,066 block-face records (including unpopulated block-faces) for the CMAs/CAs in SNF coverage. The file also contains 11,757 EA records for the population and dwelling counts that could not be linked to block-faces. Users should also be aware that some street names and address ranges are unidentifed or unavailable. In addition, the Street Network Files have not been updated using the information gathered during the 1991 Census field operations. Consequently, some streets and attributes have not been added to the Street Network Files. 3. INDEX TO VARIABLES STNAME Street name STTYPE Street type STDIR Street direction ADDFROM Address from ADDTO Address to UTMNO UTM zone number of representative point UTM-X UTM x-coordinate of representative point UTM-Y UTM y-coordinate of representative point LINKFLAG Population/dwelling linkage flag POP91 Population count, 1991 DWEL91 Dwelling count, 1991 PROV Province/territory code FED Federal electoral district code EA Enumeration area code CD Census division code CSD Census subdivision code CMACA Census metropolitan area/census agglomeration code CT Census tract/provincial census tract name 1 4. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS STNAME Street name Field: 1 Position: 1-20 Format: A20 COMMENTS: Street names are generally based on municipal documents provided to the Street Network File program. Users should note the following coding rules: - names are truncated (at the end) if they exceed the maximum field size of 20 characters. - formats of the word 'Saint' and 'Sainte' are abbreviated as ST and STE. - all numeric streets are coded using the number rather than the alphabetic spelling (for example, First Avenue is 1 AV). - all articles are coded at the end of the street name (for example, The Queensway becomes QUEENSWAY, THE, and De l'Eglise becomes EGLISE, DE L'). - all unknown street names are coded using 3-digit numbers prefixed by a "Z" (e.g. Z001). STTYPE Street type Field: 2 Position: 21-22 Format: A2 CONTENT VALUE alley/allee AL autoroute AU avenue AV bay BA by pass BP boulevard BV carre CA chemin CH circle/cercle CL concession CN cote CO crescent/croissant CR close CS court/cour CT drive DR garden GN green GR gate GT grove GV hill HL heights HT highway HY jardin JA line LI link LK lane LN mews ME montee MO place PL promenade PM park/parc PR plateau PU parkway PY road RD rang RG rise RI ruelle RL route RO rue RU row RW square SQ street ST trail TL terrace/terrasse TR view VW walk WK way WY COMMENTS: Street type is a two-letter code that identifies the different types of addressable streets. STDIR Street direction Field: 3 Position: 23-24 Format: A2 CONTENT CODE north/nord N south/sud S east/est E west W oest O north-east/nord-est NE north-west NW nord-ouest NO south-east/sud-est SE south-west SW sud-ouest SO COMMENTS: Street direction is a one- or two-letter code that denotes the location of the street relative to a pre-defined origin (for example, Sherbrooke St. West). The street direction is included only if it is part of the street name. The direction should not be misconstrued as being the geographic direction of the street. ADDFROM Address from Field: 4 Position: 25-29 Format: A5 COMMENTS: 'Address from' is a number representing the low civic address of the block-face. If an addressable street follows a CSD boundary, the address is coded for only the side of the street contained within the CSD. An unknown address is coded by the symbol "_______". ADDTO Address to Field: 5 Position: 30-34 Format: A5 COMMENTS: 'Address to' is a number representing the high civic address of the block-face. If an addressable street follows a CSD boundary, the address is coded for only the side of the street contained within the CSD. An unknown address is coded by the symbol "_______". UTMNO UTM zone number of representative point Field: 6 Position: 35-36 Format: I2 COMMENTS: This field denotes the UTM zone in which the block-face or EA representative point is located. The field should be used in conjunction with the x,y coordinates of the representative points. Region Province Code UTM Zone(s) Atlantic Newfoundland 10 19 to 22 Prince Edward Island 11 20 Nova Scotia 12 19 to 21 New Brunswick 13 19 and 20 Quebec Quebec 24 17 to 21 Ontario Ontario 35 15 to 18 Prairies Manitoba 46 14 and 15 Saskatchewan 47 12 to 14 Alberta 48 11 and 12 British Columbia British Columbia 59 7 to 11 Territories Yukon Territory 60 7 to 10 Northwest Territories 61 8 to 21 Sixteen UTM zones cover Canada, bearing numbers 7 to 22 from west to east. A block-face representative point is located at the mid- point of the block-face, set back a perpendicular distance of 22 metres from the street centre line. An EA representative point (within Street Network File coverage) is generated by an automated method using ARC/INFO GIS software, which locates the point suitable for label or symbol placement in each polygon. UTM-X UTM x-coordinate of representative point Field: 7 Position: 37-42 Format: I6 COMMENTS: The UTM x-coordinate (easting) of the block-face or EA representative point is a 6-digit value in metres. Eastings are measured from the central meridian (called the 500,000-metre line) for each zone. The points west of the central meridian have easting values of less than 500,000; points east of the central meridian have values greater than 500,000. Eastings are all greater than 0 and less than 1,000,000. UTM-Y UTM y-coordinate of representative point Field: 8 Position: 43-49 Format: I7 COMMENTS: The UTM y-coordinate (northing) of the block-face or EA representative point is a 7-digit value in metres. Northings are measured by their distance in metres from the equator. Because Canada's southernmost point is about 4,620,000 metres from the equator, all points in Canada have a northing value greater than 4,620,000. LINKFLAG Population/dwelling linkage flag Field: 9 Position: 50 Format: I1 CONTENT CODE block-face 1 enumeration area 2 COMMENTS: The linkage 'flag' is a 1-digit code that denotes whether the population and dwelling counts are linked to block-face or EA representative points. This distinction is made because overseas population and other households could not be specifically linked to block- face representative points due to missing streets on the Street Network Files, or to insufficient or missing address information. In these cases, the population and dwelling counts are linked to EA representative points instead. POP91 Population count, 1991 Field: 10 Position: 51-54 Format: I4 COMMENTS: This field contains unrounded 1991 population counts. These counts are assigned to block-face or EA representative points. DWEL91 Dwelling count, 1991 Field: 11 Position: 55-58 Format: I4 COMMENTS: This field contains unrounded 1991 dwelling counts (occupied private dwellings only). These counts are assigned to block- face or EA representative points. PROV Province/territory code Field: 12 Position: 59-60 Format: I2 CONTENT CODE Newfoundland 10 Prince Edward Island 11 Nova Scotia 12 New Brunswick 13 Quebec 24 Ontario 35 Manitoba 46 Saskatchewan 47 Alberta 48 British Columbia 59 Yukon Territory 60 Norwest Territories 61 COMMENTS: The province/territory is designated by a 2-digit code that is based on the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). The code is assigned from east to west. The first digit represents the region of Canada to which the province/territory belongs; the second digit denotes one of the ten provinces and two territories. FED Federal electoral district code Field: 13 Position: 61-63 Format: I3 COMMENTS: The FED is designated by a 3-digit code. In order to uniquely identify each FED in Canada, the code must be preceded by the 2-digit province code. For example: PR-FED Code FED Name 12 001 Annapolis Valley-Hants 24 001 Abitibi 46 009 Winnipeg North 59 009 Kamloops EA Enumeration area code Field: 14 Position: 64-66 Format: I3 COMMENTS: The EA is designated by a 3-digit code. In order to uniquely identify each EA in Canada, the code must be preceded by the 2-digit province code and the 3-digit FED code. For example: PR-FED-EA Code Description 12 009 251 Province 12: Nova Scotia FED 009: Halifax West EA: 251 35 009 251 Province 35: Ontario FED 009: Cambridge EA: 251 46 009 251 Province 46: Manitoba FED 009: Winnipeg North EA: 251 CD Census division code Field: 15 Position: 67-68 Format: I2 COMMENTS: The CD is designated by a 2-digit code that is based on the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). In order to uniquely identify each CD in Canada, the code must be preceded by the 2-digit province code. For example: PR-CD Code CD Name 12 03 Digby County 24 03 La Cote-de-Gaspe 35 15 Peterborough County 59 15 Greater Vancouver Regional District CSD Census subdivision code Field: 16 Position: 69-71 Format: I3 COMMENTS: The CSD is designated by a 3-digit code that is based on the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). In order to uniquely identify each CSD in Canada, the code must be preceded by the 2-digit province code and the 2-digit CD code. For example: PR-CD-CSD Code CSD Name 12 09 021 Halifax 35 09 021 Perth CMACA Census metropolitan area/census agglomeration code Field: 17 Position: 72-74 Format: I3 COMMENTS: The CMA/CA is designated by a 3-digit code that uniquely identifies each urban centre in Canada. The first digit of the CMA/CA code uses the second digit of the province code (except in the Territories where the CMA/CA code starts with number 9). If a CMA or CA crosses a provincial boundary, the first digit of the code reflects the province that contains the CMA portion with the higher population (e.g. CMA code 505 for Ottawa-Hull). The second and third digits are assigned in numeric order from 1 to 99 by province. For example: CMA/CA Code Province CMA/CA Name 001 10 St. John's 205 12 Halifax 421 24 Quebec 505 35 Ottawa-Hull 935 59 Victoria 995 61 Yellowknife CT Census tract/provincial census tract name Field: 18 Position: 75-81 Format: F7.2 COMMENTS: The CT name is a unique 7-digit number (including leading zeros and the decimal point), assigned in ascending order within a CMA or CA. However, CT names may not be unique between CMAs or CAs. The PCT name is also a 7-digit number (including leading zeros and the decimal point), assigned in ascending order within a province. The Block-Face Data File does not make a distinction between CTs and PCTs in the name field. (Refer to Table 1 which indicates the urban centres covered by CTs or PCTs.) If a CT/PCT is split into two or more parts due to a population increase, the numbers after the decimal point identify the splits. For example: CT Name in 1986 CT Name in 1991 0400.00 0400.01 0400.02 1 5. GLOSSARY OF TERMS The glossary provides an explanation of the terms used in the Block-face Data File. The terms are presented in summary form only. Please refer to the 1991 Census Dictionary (Catalogue 92-301E) for the full definitions. Block-face (BF). One side of a city street, normally between two consecutive intersections with streets or other features such as rivers and railways. A block-face is generally used for census data aggregation in large urban centres within Street Network File coverage. Census Agglomeration (CA). A large urban area, together with adjacent urban and rural areas which have a high degree of economic and social integration with that urban area. A CA is delineated around an urban area (called the urbanized core and having a population of at least 10,000, based on the previous census). If a CA's urbanized core population falls below 10,000, it is deleted from the CA program. However, if a CA attains an urbanized core population of at least 100,000, based on the previous census, it becomes a census metropolitan area (CMA). Census Division (CD). A geographic area established by provincial law which is an intermediate area between the census subdivision and the province (e.g. division, county, regional district, regional municipality). In Newfoundland, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, provincial law does not provide for this administrative area. Therefore, CDs have been created by Statistics Canada in cooperation with these provinces. Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). A very large urban area, together with adjacent urban and rural areas which have a high degree of economic and social integration with that urban area. A CMA is delineated around an urban area (called the urbanized core and having a population of at least 100,000, based on the previous census). Once an area becomes a CMA, it is retained in the program even if its population subsequently declines. Census Subdivision (CSD). A municipality as determined by provincial legislation (such as city, town, village), or its equivalent (e.g. Indian reserve, Indian settlement and unorganized territory). In Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and British Columbia, other types of CSDs have been created by Statistics Canada in cooperation with the provinces as equivalents for municipalities. Census Subdivision Type. The type indicates the municipal status of a census subdivision. CSDs are classified into various types, according to official designations adopted by provincial or federal authorities. Census Tract (CT). A permanent, small urban neighbourhood-like or rural community-like area established in large urban centres with the help of local specialists interested in urban and social science research. Census tracts are delineated jointly by a local committee and Statistics Canada. The population must be between 2,500 and 8,000, with a preferred average of 4,000 persons (except for those CTs in central business districts, in other major commercial and industrial zones, or in peripheral rural or urban areas that may have either a lower or higher population). Also, when first delineated or subsequently subdivided, CTs must be as socio-economically homogeneous and compact in shape as possible. All CMAs and CAs in Canada containing a CSD having a population of 50,000 or more at the previous census are eligible for a census tract program. Enumeration Area (EA). The geographic area canvassed by one census representative. The number of dwellings in an EA generally varies between a maximum of 375 in large urban areas to a minimum of 125 in rural areas. An EA always respects higher level geographic areas recognized by the census, and is the smallest unit for which census data are usually available. Federal Electoral District (FED). Any place or territorial area entitled to return a member to serve in the House of Commons. FED legal limits and descriptions are the responsibility of the Chief Electoral Officer, and are usually revised every 10 years after the results of the decennial census. The 1987 Representation Order is the most current one, and is based on 1981 Census population data. Geographic Area. An area delineated or employed for the collection, compilation, analysis and dissemination of census data. Geographic Attribute Data Base. A Statistics Canada relational data base which contains a number of attributes (such as names, codes, population and dwelling counts, land area) for standard geographic areas, and linkages between the geographic areas. Province. The major political division of Canada. From a statistical point of view, it is a basic unit for which data are tabulated and cross- classified. Provincial Census Tract (PCT). A permanent, small urban neighbourhood-like or rural community-like area established outside those CMAs and CAs having a census tract program. PCTs encompass populations between 3,000 and 8,000, with a preferred average of 5,000 persons. Representative Point. Formerly called a centroid, a representative point is a pair of x,y coordinate values that represents a geographic entity for the purpose of assigning aggregate data to that entity. Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). Statistics Canada's official classification of geographic areas in Canada. The SGC provides unique numeric identification for three types of geographic areas: provinces/territories; census divisions; and census subdivisions. The three geographic areas are hierarchically related. CSDs aggregate to CDs, which in turn aggregate to a province or territory. This relationship is reflected in the 7-digit code: 2 digits for provinces/territories, 2 digits for census divisions and 3 digits for census subdivisions. Street Network File (SNF). Formerly known as the Area Master File (AMF), the Street Network File is a computer-readable file that geographically references the street network and selected other non-street features (such as rivers, lakes, railways and municipal limits). SNFs are generally created for urban centres containing at least one municipality with a population of 50,000 or more at the previous census. These centres are normally in the census tract program. The SNF contains the names for all street and non-street features. In addition, the intersection (corner) civic address ranges and block-face representative points are available for addressable streets. Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM). An international grid system that covers the earth's surface between 84oN and 80oS. The earth is divided into 60 north-south zones, each of which is 6o of longitude wide. The zones are numbered from 1 to 60 eastward, beginning at the 180th meridian. A grid system is superimposed on the zones, and separate Transverse Mercator projections are centred on each zone.