Activity in centre zones

Centre zone

1. A centre zone consists of one or more centre kernels and a 100-metre zone around them.

2. A centre kernel is an area with at least 4 different main types of economic activity with centre functions. In addition to detail trade, governmental administration or health and social services or social and personal services must be present. The distance among enterprises must not be more than 50 meters.

At least 50 employees, (in businesses with centre functions) in the centre zone.

Number of centre zones, area of centre zones. Attached statistics; number of enterprises, number of residents, number of employees.

Retail trade and service area is:

Areas with concentration of businesses of a selected set of industries. The selection is based on transport generating properties. The Retail trade and service area is delimitated just as the centre zones, but the maximum distance between businesses is 100 m. There is no criteria for diversity of industries either. It has, however, to be at least 3 businesses and at least 50 employees.

Standard industrial classification (SN 2007).

Classification of municipalities.

Classification of counties.

Activity in centre zones

Nature and the environment

Division for housing, property, spatial and agricultural statistics.

Central business districts, urban settlements, municipalities, counties

Annually

Collected and revised data are stored securely by Statistics Norway in compliance with applicable legislation on data processing.

Statistics Norway can grant access to the source data (de-identified or anonymised microdata) on which the statistics are based, for researchers and public authorities for the purposes of preparing statistical results and analyses. Access can be granted upon application and subject to conditions. Refer to the details about this at Access to data from Statistics Norway.

The purpose of the statistics is to follow the changes in the extension and land use of central business districts and to attach this to demographic and economical statistics concerning the central business districts. The work is based on the need for a uniform delimitation of central business districts as the "national policy guidelines for shopping centres outside central business districts" were passed, 8th of January 1999. An automatic method can secure the authorities standardised data for comparison, as well as providing planning authorities with data for statistical analysis.

The central business districts are modelled for the purpose of statistics, and must not be confused with the term central business district used in other settings.

The statistics is mainly used by civil administration (ministries, directorates, county- and municipality administrations) as well as for research purposes. Population in central business districts is used in a number of analyses as an important variable in social, environmental and demographic studies.

No external users have access to statistics before they are released at 8 a.m. on ssb.no after at least three months’ advance notice in the release calendar. This is one of the most important principles in Statistics Norway for ensuring the equal treatment of users.

The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).

The statistics comprises all Central business districts of Norway as defined by Statistics Norway with minimum 50 employees. In addition all retail trade and service areas.

Data sources are the National register of Ground, Addresses and Buildings and the Central Register of Establishment and enterprises as well as building outlines from the Common map data base and the land use map compiled by Statistics Norway.

Based on registers and the use of GIS.

Data revised by owners of the registers, e.g. Statistics Norway and Norwegian Mapping Authorities.

Based on modelling. Where density and diversity of enterprises fulfils the definition, a centre zone is delimited.

Employees of Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality.

Statistics Norway does not publish figures if there is a risk of the respondent’s contribution being identified. This means that, as a general rule, figures are not published if fewer than three units form the basis of a cell in a table or if the contribution of one or two respondents constitutes a very large part of the cell total.

Statistics Norway can make exceptions to the general rule if deemed necessary to meet the requirements of the EEA agreement, if the respondent is a public authority, if the respondent has consented to this, or when the information disclosed is openly accessible to the public.

More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.

To ensure confidentiality, the ‘suppression’ method is used in the statistics.

The delimitation is done by automatic routines using a geographical information system. The central business districts has been delimitated yearly since 2000. The method has been adjusted in 2015. Figures for 2014 has also been recalculated. New data for businesses from 2016 onwards makes a break in the series. The use of 4 years og businesses also make a break in the figures from 2019 onwards.

Some adjustments in data make a break in the statistics from 2023 onwards.

Errors of registrations in the National register of Ground, Addresses and Buildings or the Central Register of Establishment and enterprises.

Not all the relevant enterprises are identified by coordinates and thus some centre zones may be omitted in the statistics.