Variable Description
Area units are aggregations of meshblocks. They are non-administrative areas that are in between meshblocks and territorial authorities in size. Area units must either define or aggregate to define: regional councils; territorial authorities; urban areas; and statistical areas.
Each area unit must be a single geographic entity with a unique name referring to a geographical feature. Area units of main or secondary urban areas generally coincide with suburbs or parts thereof. Area units within urban areas normally contain a population of 3,000–5,000, though this can vary due to such things as industrial areas, port areas, and rural areas within the urban area boundaries.
In rural areas, the straddling of some territorial authorities over regional boundaries has resulted in a number of area units having only two or three meshblocks and a very low population count.
For classification see Aria.
en-NZ