Methods and apparatus for socioeconomic routing in navigation systems

1. A method of providing routing information to a user, the method comprising:

receiving user location information associated with a residence of the user;

determining a socioeconomic routing preference based on a socioeconomic status associated with the user location information;

calculating a route between a start location and an end location based on the socioeconomic routing preference, wherein the end location does not correspond to the residence of the user; and

providing route guidance, via a display, to the user based on the calculated route; wherein the route comprises a plurality of route segments selected from a plurality of candidate route segments passing through a plurality of regions having an associated socioeconomic status; the socioeconomic routing preference includes a preference for candidate route segments that pass through regions having a socioeconomic status that is substantially equal to or greater than the socioeconomic status of the user location information; and the socioeconomic routing preference is further based on a composite socioeconomic status associated with a plurality of the user's frequently visited regions.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the route guidance includes at least one of displaying an interactive map and providing audio turn-by-turn directions.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the user location information includes prompting the user to enter an address corresponding to the residence of the user during a navigation system initialization procedure.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the socioeconomic routing preference includes a preference for candidate route segments that pass through regions having a socioeconomic status that is within a predetermined range of the socioeconomic status of the user location information.

5. The method of claim 1 , further including downloading, over a network, data specifying the socioeconomic status associated with the plurality of regions.

6. A navigation system comprising:

a controller;

a display module coupled to the controller, the display module configured to display route guidance information associated with a route; and

a user input module coupled to the controller, the user input module configured to receive from the user a start location, an end location, and user location information associated with a residence of the user;

wherein the controller is configured to determine a socioeconomic routing preference based on a socioeconomic status associated with the user location information and to calculate a route between the start location and the end location based on the socioeconomic routing preference, wherein the end location does not correspond to the residence of the user; and

wherein the route comprises a plurality of route segments selected from a plurality of candidate route segments passing through a plurality of regions having an associated socioeconomic status; the socioeconomic routing preference includes a preference for candidate route segments that pass through regions having a socioeconomic status that is substantially equal to or greater than the socioeconomic status of the user location information; and the socioeconomic routing preference is further based on a composite socioeconomic status associated with a plurality of the user's frequently visited regions.

7. The navigation system of claim 6 , further including a speech module configured to enunciate audio turn-by-turn directions associated with the route.

8. The navigation system of claim 6 , wherein the controller is further configured to prompt the user to enter an address corresponding to the residence of the user during an initialization procedure.

9. The navigation system of claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to download, over a network, data specifying the socioeconomic status associated with the plurality of regions.

10. The navigation system of claim 6 , wherein the socioeconomic routing preference is further based on a composite socioeconomic status associated with a plurality of the user's frequently visited regions.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying software instructions, the software instructions configured to instruct a controller to perform the steps of:

determining a socioeconomic routing preference based on a socioeconomic status associated with user location information;

calculating a route between a start location and an end location based on the socioeconomic routing preference, wherein the end location does not correspond to the residence of the user; and

providing route guidance, via a display, to the user based on the calculated route; wherein the route comprises a plurality of route segments selected from a plurality of candidate route segments passing through a plurality of regions having an associated socioeconomic status; the socioeconomic routing preference includes a preference for candidate route segments that pass through regions having a socioeconomic status that is substantially equal to or greater than the socioeconomic status of the user location information; and the socioeconomic routing preference is further based on a composite socioeconomic status associated with a plurality of the user's frequently visited regions.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the software instructions further instruct the controller to provide turn-by-turn directions.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the software instructions further instruct the controller to prompt a user to enter an address during a navigation system initialization procedure, and to base the user location information on the address.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the software instructions further instruct the controller to download, over a network, data specifying the socioeconomic status associated with the plurality of regions.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the socioeconomic routing preference includes a preference for candidate route segments that pass through regions having a socioeconomic status that within a predetermined range of the socioeconomic status of the user location information.