BiFlowAMOEBA for the identification of arbitrarily shaped clusters in bivariate flow data. Issue 9 (2nd September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Qiliang; Yang, Jie; Deng, Min; Liu, Wenkai; Xu, Rui
• Is Part Of: International journal of geographical information science. Volume 36:Issue 9(2022)
• Page Start: 1784
• Page End: 1808
• Publication Date: 2022-09-02
• Subjects: Bivariate flow data -- clustering -- spatial association -- spatial data mining; Geography -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Information storage and retrieval systems -- Periodicals; Géomatique -- Périodiques; Systèmes d'information -- Périodiques; 910.285
• DOI: 10.1080/13658816.2022.2072850
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1365-8816

Abstract

Abstract: A bivariate flow cluster is a group of two types of spatial flows, where both types of flows have high (or low) values, or one type of flow has a high value while the other has a low value. Identifying bivariate flow clusters aids in understanding the complex interactions between different flow patterns. Detecting bivariate flow clusters remains challenging because statistics for quantitatively assessing bivariate flow clusters are lacking and the shapes and sizes of clusters vary. This study proposes a novel bivariate flow clustering method (BiFlowAMOEBA) by improving a multidirectional optimum ecotope-based algorithm (AMOEBA) which embeds local Getis-Ord statistic in an iterative procedure to detect irregular-shaped clusters. We define a bivariate local Getis-Ord statistic for quantitatively assessing bivariate flow clusters, use a hierarchical clustering strategy to construct clusters, and evaluate the statistical significance of clusters using a Monte Carlo simulation. Experimental results of simulated datasets show that BiFlowAMOEBA can identify bivariate flow clusters of different shapes more accurately and completely, compared with two state-of-the-art methods. Two case studies show that BiFlowAMOEBA helps not only unveil the interactions between public transport and taxi services but also identifies competition patterns between taxis and ride-hailing services.