Calculate Areas (Spatial Statistics)

Summary

Calculates area values for each feature in a polygon feature class.

Legacy:

This tool will be deprecated in a future release of ArcGIS; there are better methods for obtaining polygon areas, including: Calculate_Field and the Geometry Calculator.

Illustration

Usage

• The F_AREA field created in the Output Feature Class will be populated with values for the area of each polygon feature in square units of the Output_Coordinate_System.

• There are alternative methods for creating an Area field for polygon features including: Calculate_Field and the Geometry Calculator.

• The Output Feature Class is a copy of the Input Feature Class with the additional (or updated) F_AREA field containing polygon areas.

• This tool is useful for determining a weight for intra-zonal interaction.

• This tool can be used to calculate an Area value for a study area polygon. The Average Nearest Neighbor tool, for example, has an Area parameter.

Caution:

The F_AREA field is created in the Output Feature Class to store calculated Area values. If a field of this name already exists in the Input Feature Class, it will be overwritten in the Output Feature Class.

Caution:

When using shapefiles, keep in mind that they cannot store null values. Tools or other procedures that create shapefiles from nonshapefile inputs may store or interpret null values as zero. In some cases, nulls are stored as very large negative values in shapefiles. This can lead to unexpected results. See Geoprocessing considerations for shapefile output for more information.

Syntax

CalculateAreas_stats (Input_Feature_Class, Output_Feature_Class)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
Input_Feature_Class	The input polygon feature class.	Feature Layer
Output_Feature_Class	The output feature class. This feature class is a copy of the input feature class with field F_AREA added (or updated). The F_AREA field contains the polygon area.	Feature Class

Code Sample

CalculateAreas Example (Python Window)

The following Python Window script demonstrates how to use the CalculateAreas tool.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = "c:/data"
arcpy.CalculateAreas_stats("tracts.shp", "tracts_with_area_field.shp")

CalculateAreas Example (stand-alone Python script)

The following stand-alone Python script demonstrates how to use the CalculateAreas tool.

# Calculate AREA values
 
# Import system modules
import arcpy
 
# Local variables...
workspace = "C:/data"
input = "tracts.shp"
calculate_output = "tracts_with_area_field.shp"
 
try:
    # Set the current workspace (to avoid having to specify the full path to the feature classes each time)
    arcpy.env.workspace = workspace
 
    # Process: Calculate Areas...
    arcpy.CalculateAreas_stats(input, calculate_output)
 
except:
    # If an error occurred when running the tool, print out the error message.
    print arcpy.GetMessages()

Environments

Output Coordinate System, Current Workspace, Scratch Workspace, Qualified Field Names, Output has M values, Output has Z values, Default Output Z Value

Output Coordinate System

Feature geometry is projected to the Output Coordinate System prior to analysis.

Licensing Information

ArcGIS for Desktop Basic: Yes

ArcGIS for Desktop Standard: Yes

ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced: Yes