Dear all,
For my research on Pakistan settlements, I need to calculate the share of total settlement area in total area of Pakistan and the sum of length of settlement boundaries. For the former, as you suggested, it is important to use a projection preserving the areas. For the latter, I need to use a preserving-distance projection.
To have a projection that minimizes distortions to both areas and distance, I used the Israeli TM Grid projection tailored to my study area of Pakistan. Though this projection is only conformal, its focus on Pakistan helps minimize distortion of all properties in that region, according to the ArcGis website https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/map/projections/transverse-mercator.htm.
I wonder if this choice makes sense?
An alternative is to use transverse-cylindrical equal area projection for computing the share of settlement area mentioned above. But it targets the whole world rather than Pakistan. Also, I did not find equal-area projections targeting Pakistan. I am unsure whether I should prioritize having a projection targeting my study area (minimizing distortions of all local properties) over having a world-wide projection preserving areas. Could you please let me know if you have any suggestions?
(Similarly, I found a worldwide equal-distance projection for computing the lengths of settlement boundaries mentioned earlier.)
Thank you!
