Determination of the Number of Significant Flows in Origin–Destination Specific Analysis: The Case of Commuting in Flanders

Van Nuffel N. (2007) Determination of the number of significant flows in origin–destination specific analysis: the case of commuting in Flanders, Regional Studies 41, 509–524. In areas with complex commuting structures, such as Flanders in Belgium, divisions into functional regions do not provide the best picture of geographical structuration. In such situations, the degree of polarization may be more useful. This degree can be measured by the number of significant commuting flows. The aim of this paper is to determine this number of significant flows from threshold values. To reduce the inherent arbitrariness as much as possible, a three-step procedure (multiple linkage analysis, cluster analysis and skewness) is applied to an origin–destination matrix of between-municipality commuting data in Flanders, which allows a transparent classification of municipalities. Van Nuffel N. (2007) La determination du nombre de flux importants dans l'analyse specifique a la provenance–destination: etude de cas des migr...

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