Spatial Access Measures (SAM)

Detailed information for 2024

An implementation of a set of spatial access measures to services and amenities.

Data release - July 21, 2025

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The Spatial Access Measures represent a set of 48 measures that quantify access to 8 types of destination with 6 variants of transportation, at the dissemination block geographic representation. Level of access is provided as a numeric value (ranging between 0 and 1), which represents the ease of reaching the amenity destinations.

The 8 types of destinations include: employment, healthcare facilities, public K-12 education facilities, public post-secondary facilities, grocery stores, child care, sports and recreation facilities, and cultural and art facilities. For each destination, there are six variants based on the transportation mode: access via public transit during peak & off-peak hours, access via cycling - confident cyclists; cautious cyclists; and all ages and abilities cyclists - and access via walking.

Data sources and methodology

Instrument design

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Sampling

This methodology does not apply.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

Statistics Canada's Business Register (BR) was used to compute masses for places of employment, grocery stores, health care facilities, and child care facilities.

The Open Database of Education Facilities (ODEF) was used to generate the masses for education facilities.

The Open Database of Healthcare Facilities (ODHF) was used as a supplement to generate masses for the healthcare facilities.

The Open Database of Recreational and Sport Facilities (ODRSF) was used to generate the masses for sports and recreation facilities.

OpenStreetMap (OSM) was used to generate the routing network and the representative points of dissemination blocks.

Error detection

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Imputation

Imputation was used in a variety of facets of the project. For example, ISCED levels were imputed, when necessary, based on grade ranges or the name of the school. Business variables such as revenue and employment were imputed using Business Register allocation factors when not available at the location level.

Estimation

Values are estimated using a gravity model that accounts for the distance between a reference dissemination block (DB) and all the DBs in which the service is located (within a given duration) and the size of the services. The measure accounts also for the presence of services within the DB of reference.

Quality evaluation

All measures were analyzed spatially as a validation check.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Data accuracy

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.