Isolation Scale

The four distance measures and the percentage of public land measure are combined into a simple scale as a general proxy of isolation of each community aggregation. Standardized scores are calculated for each scale component and normalized to a base of two standard deviations. The normalized component variables are then combined with equal weight into a single scale. The isolation scale was created using the following formula.

S= [ * (A, B, C, D, E) ] / 5

     where: S = Isolation scale

     A = standardized distance to the nearest federal highway or interstate.

     B = standardized distance to the nearest state highway.

     C = standardized distance to the closest major city with a population of 25,000 or greater.

     D = standardized distance to the nearest county seat.

     E = standardized percentage of public land within an 8 kilometer radius.