Rural Urban Classification (2021) of Upper Tier Local Authorities (2023) in EW

Rural Urban Classification The 2021 RUC is a statistical classification to provide a consistent and standardised method for classifying geographies as rural or urban. This is based on address density, physical settlement form, population size, and Relative Access to Major towns and cities (populations of over 75,000 people). The classification is produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with advice from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Government and colleagues from the Government Geography Profession (GGP). This is 2021 rural-urban classification (RUC) of 2023 Upper Tier Local Authorities (UTLA) in England and Wales. This means that the 2021 RUC methodology has been applied to the 2023 UTLA boundaries. UTLA classifications are divided into four categories based on their populations: 1. Majority Rural: had at least 50% of their population residing in Rural OAs 2. Intermediate Rural: 35-50% rural population 3. Intermediate Urban: 20-35% rural population 4. Urban: 20% or less of the population lived in rural OAs. Each 2023 UTLA category is split into one of two Relative Access categories, using the same data as the 2021 Output Area RUC. If more than 50% of a UTLA population lives in ‘Nearer a major town or city’ OAs, it is deemed ‘nearer a major town or city’; otherwise, it is classified as ‘further from a major town or city’. It may be appropriate for users to undertake analysis at the UTLA level to get a broad idea of the overall classification of an area, but more detailed classification information will be available for the component Local Authority Districts. At the UTLA level, the categorisation works slightly differently in that most areas will include a mix of both rural and urban areas - so the UTLA RUC categorisation is a reflection of this. A statistical geography may contain substantial portions of open countryside but still be given an ‘Urban’ classification if the majority of the population within the area live in settlements that are urban in nature. Users should take this into consideration to ensure correct interpretations of any analysis of RUC UTLA categories, and should consider whether LAD level classification is more appropriate for their purposes.”城乡分类（Rural Urban Classification, RUC） 2021版城乡分类是一套统一标准化的统计分类方法，用于对地理空间开展城乡划分，其划分依据涵盖地址密度、实体聚落形态、人口规模，以及与人口7.5万以上主要城镇的相对可达性水平。本分类由英国国家统计局（Office for National Statistics, ONS）联合环境、食品与农村事务部（Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Defra）、威尔士政府及政府地理专业委员会（Government Geography Profession, GGP）的专家共同制定。 本次提供的数据集为2023年英格兰与威尔士上层地方当局（Upper Tier Local Authorities, UTLA）的2021版城乡分类结果，即采用2021版RUC的分类方法对2023年UTLA的行政边界进行归类。 UTLA的分类按照乡村人口占比划分为四类： 1. 高度乡村型：乡村人口占比不低于50% 2. 中度乡村型：乡村人口占比介于35%至50%之间 3. 中度城市型：乡村人口占比介于20%至35%之间 4. 城市型：乡村人口占比不超过20% 每个2023年UTLA类别还将基于2021版输出区（Output Area, OA）RUC的相同数据，划分为两个可达性子类：若某UTLA内超过50%的人口居住在“邻近主要城镇”的输出区，则将其归类为“邻近主要城镇”；反之则归类为“远离主要城镇”。 用户若仅需大致了解区域的整体分类概况，可采用UTLA层级开展分析，但更细致的分类信息可从下属的地方当局地区（Local Authority Districts, LAD）获取。UTLA层级的分类逻辑存在细微差异：多数区域会同时包含城乡两类地理空间，因此UTLA的RUC分类正是对这一混合特征的反映。例如，某统计地理区域即便包含大片开阔乡村地带，但只要区内多数人口居住在城镇聚落中，仍会被归类为“城市型”。用户需充分考虑上述特征，以确保对UTLA层级RUC分类的分析解读准确无误，同时应根据自身研究需求判断是否采用LAD层级的分类更为适配。