Simple density calculations

The simple method for creating a density surface uses a circular search area, or neighborhood, to calculate cell values. In a density surface, individual cell values are calculated by dividing the number of features that fall within the search area (e.g., observations) by the size of the area (e.g., 2.88 acres). The resulting value is then assigned to the cell. Every cell in the surface is processed in the same way.

The size of the search radius affects the result of a density calculation. A larger search radius produces a smoother surface because a larger search radius is more likely to encompass data points.