CHAPTER 4
Where Is It All Happening? Location, Location, Location
From foreign policy to politics to real estate and retailing, many would agree with Napoleon’s sentiment that “geography is destiny.” Where customers reside and the attributes of that area are among customers’ most informative characteristics: east coast, west coast, or in-between? Red state or blue state? Urban, rural, or suburban? Sunbelt or snowbelt? Good school district or retirement community? Geography is important.
Incorporating this rich source of information into data analysis poses some challenges. One is geocoding, the process of identifying the names of physically locations. This includes latitude and longitude, as well as the identification of multiple geographic areas, such as zip code, county, state, and country. This information makes it possible to determine who are neighbors and who are not.
Another challenge is incorporating the wealth of information about geographic areas...