Geographic unit relationships provide a path for the system to follow when comparing data across different administrative versions, e.g., ML_1983 to ML_2016.
Geographic unit relationships can be updated in two ways.
If you need to update a few relationships, this can be done individually within the FDW.
If you need to update many relationships, this is best done by uploading a relationship table.
Relationship Types
Relationship Types must be one of the predefined options:
Successor: This administrative unit did not change or barely changed between geographic unit set versions.
Merge: Parts of, or the whole of, two or more administrative units were joined together to create a new administrative unit.
Split: An administrative unit was divided to form new administrative units.
Aggregate: An administrative unit becomes a higher-level administrative unit, e.g., Admin2 becomes Admin1.
Redistribute: Parts of an administrative unit were divided and redistributed to become part of new administrative units.
Demotion: An administrative unit becomes a lower-level administrative unit, e.g., Admin1 becomes Admin2.
Updating Geographic Unit Relationships in the FDW
To add individual unit relationships:
Go to Metadata Management > Spatial > Geographic Unit Relationships.
Click Add Geographic Unit Relationship.
Choose a From Unit and a To Unit. You can search for units by typing a unit's name into the drop-down menu.
Choose a Relationship Type.
Click one of the Save options.
Preparing and Uploading Relationship Tables
Preparing tables
To prepare a relationship table for upload, you will need to copy the relationship data from one tab to another in the relevant spreadsheet.
The relationship table tab must be the first tab in the spreadsheet. Relationship tables should be completed before they are uploaded.
The relationship tab should be set up as follows:
from_name | from_fnid | relationship type | to_name | to_fnid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This column should contain the old name of the geographic unit. | This column should contain the old FNID of the geographic unit. | This column should include the relationship between the old and new units. Use a type from the list at the beginning of this page. | This column should contain the new name of the geographic unit. | This column should contain the new FNID of the geographic unit. |
To copy the information:
You will need to copy the appropriate information from the FlowChart tab to the Relationship Table tab.
Copy information by dataset.
If there are multiple relationship sets, copy the data for the oldest start year first so they are at the top of the sheet. When all relationships for that year are done, begin again for the next set. This ensures the data are ordered chronologically.
For cases where one start row splits into multiple rows in the FlowChart tab (e.g., when a unit splits or redistributes), copy over the starting information for each individual split.
Uploading Relationship Tables to FDW
Go to Metadata Management > Spatial > Geographic Unit Relationships.
Click Import Geographic Unit Relationships.
Click Choose File.
Choose a format from the dropdown menu. This will likely be xls(x).
Click Submit.
Confirm the import.