Determination of the mean center of a region: A physics-based approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces a physics-based analytical model to accurately determine the mean center of regions on curved surfaces like Earth, applicable to various physical and geographical contexts, and demonstrates its use with Indian data.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel physics-inspired analytical approach for calculating the mean center on curved surfaces, extending traditional methods and applying it to real-world geographical data.

Findings

Computed various mean centers of India including geographical, population, and crime centers.

Observed a northward movement trend of the crime center over time.

Provided analytical expressions applicable to flat and curved geometries.

Abstract

The mean center of a geographical region, including continents and countries, has been mostly determined to study the trend of population migration, the shift of economic hubs, and the spatial change of extreme climate events. However, the determination of the mean center is a formidable task as it deals with the curvature of the earth's surface. Here, we report a physics-based model to determine the mean center of a region. Our method provides the analytical expression for the location of the mean center for both flat and curved spaces, such as straight lines, circles, planes, three-dimensional space, cylinders, and spheres. Some of these expressions are often used to compute the center of mass of the physical system. Therefore, the implication of our model in the physical system extends the general validity of the model. Furthermore, we have computed various mean centers of India, such as the geographical, population, and crime centers. We have also assessed the year-wise movement of the crime center and found a spatial trend towards the north.