Modifiable areal unit problem

The modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) is a potential source of error that can affect spatial studies which utilise aggregate data sources (Unwin, 1996). Various fields of human geography are prone to such errors, including spatial planning, demography and crime mapping. It is closely related to the ecological fallacy, in that the fallacy's false assumptions of homogeneity in aggregate data are often exacerbated by the MAUP.

Geographical data are often aggregated in order to present the results of a study in a more useful context, and spatial objects such as census enumeration districts or police beat boundaries are examples of the type of aggregating zones used to show results of some spatial phenomena. These zones are often arbitrary in nature and different areal units can be just as meaningful in displaying the same base level data. For example, it could be argued that enumeration districts containing comparable numbers of houses are better sources of aggregation than police beats (which are often based on ancient parish boundaries in the UK) when displaying burglary rates. Large amounts of source data require a careful choice of aggregating zones to display the spatial variation of the data in a comprehensible manner. It is this variation in acceptable areal solution that generates the term "modifiable."

Only in the last 20 years has this problem been addressed in the area of spatial crime analysis, where "the areal units (zonal objects) used in many geographical studies are arbitrary, modifiable, and subject to the whims and fancies of whoever is doing, or did, the aggregating." (Openshaw, 1984, p.3).