Cluster search algorithm (min x pts. Within the distance to the cluster center) of geographical points

Question

Given a database of geographic locations (long / lat), what would be the best approach to locating / detecting clusters of locations within x miles of the center of the clusters And at least for locations?

eg. out of 1000 McWidgets in NC, there are 30 clusters, each of which contains 20 or more stores within 7 miles of their respective cluster center.

It has been a long time since my applied mathematics course in college ... any help for the old soft brain would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

A common method for this kind of problem is Density Spatial Clustering (DBSCAN) based on density . An option that might be the best choice if you cannot determine a good density parameter is Order Point for Clustering Structure Identification (OPTICS) , which uses a distance parameter rather than a density parameter.

Answer 2

You will probably need one of the clustering algorithms .