Proximity Analysis
The purpose of a proximity analysi is to identify geographic groupings. Mapping the results provides intuitive visualization of data distribution. More sophisticated analyses use data weighting in addition to “straight line” distance between points.
This technique is generally quick to do, and useful for evaluating employee distribution (commute distances), customer districtuion (market areas), and identifying "hotspots" for any social data (crimes, fires, accidents). PRES Services applies this technique to help group service provider contracts into efficient regions.