POPULATION CENSUS WITH THE AID OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS: AN EXPERIMENT IN THE CITY OF LEEDS

This study shows how aerial photographs can be of value in a population census. The census and the enumeration district maps were used initially to obtain population data and the housing stock was derived from the aerial photographs. From these the population densities were determined of a number of sample enumeration districts containing a single type of house. Another set of enumeration districts was selected and the housing stock again derived from the aerial photographs. By considering the type and quantity of housing stock and the population density of each housing type, the population figures were estimated for each enumeration district. The values of these population estimates were then compared with the values recorded in the census. The overall population estimate had an error of only 2%, but the estimates for some of the individual enumeration districts showed greater errors. These errors are assessed and analysed and some suggestions are made to improve the methodology used in this study.