[Incubator] Request to register Flexurba as an OSGeo community project

[Céline Van Migerode]

Dear Incubator Committee,

I am writing to apply for OSGeo Community Project status for the Flexurba R package. In April 2023, I presented the Flexurba package and the GISRUK conference in Leeds, and received the GISRUK and OSGeo:UK GoFundGeo Award.

Flexurba is an open-source R package to flexibly reconstruct the Degree of Urbanisation (DEGURBA) classification. DEGURBA is an operational definition of cities, towns and rural areas that is widely used in policy reports and academic circles. It is developed by six international organisations - among which the European Commission and the OECD - to provide a globally consistent delineation of urban areas and thus enhance statistical comparability across nations. Much effort has been devoted to making the workflow behind the methodology as transparent and reproducible as possible: it is extensively documented in a manual (Eurostat, 2021) and a set of analytical tools is provided by the Global Human Settlement Layer to reproduce the classification. The current suite of tools uses a graphical user interface. This certainly enhances the ease of use, but also obscures the underlying code and restricts the user from adapting implementation details in the algorithm.

Against this backdrop, we developed the Flexurba package: a flexible reconstruction of the DEGURBA algorithm. The package encompasses the first open implementation of DEGURBA's algorithm in any programming language. It provides flexibility to the user to customise the parameters in the algorithm and evaluate the consequences of certain implementation choices. The user can construct alternative versions of DEGURBA by changing the minimum population thresholds, and even more 'hidden' implementation details, such as the contiguity requirements and edge smoothing rules.

For an extensive description of the package and its contribution, please consult the following journal article:

Van Migerode, C., Poorthuis, A., & Derudder, B. (2024). Flexurba: An open-source R package to flexibly reconstruct the Degree of Urbanisation classification. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/23998083241262545

With the support of OSGeo, we hope to further extend the Flexurba package and promote its functionalities to a wider audience.

Community Project Application Checklist :

  *   1. Be Geospatial :
     *   README : https://gitlab.kuleuven.be/spatial-networks-lab/research-projects/flexurba/-/blob/main/README.md
     *   Project Website : https://flexurba-spatial-networks-lab-research-projects--e74426d1c66ecc.pages.gitlab.kuleuven.be/
  *   2. License file: https://gitlab.kuleuven.be/spatial-networks-lab/research-projects/flexurba/-/blob/main/LICENSE.md
  *   3. Code of Conduct: https://gitlab.kuleuven.be/spatial-networks-lab/research-projects/flexurba/-/blob/main/code-of-conduct.md

Please let me know if you have any questions about the package or if you have any suggestions to improve our application. My OSGeo userid is 'cvmigero' and I will need permission to create a project page.

Warm regards, also on behalf of my supervisors Prof. Ben Derudder and Prof. Ate Poorthuis,
Céline Van Migerode

Céline Van Migerode
PhD researcher of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)
KU Leuven Public Governance Institute - Faculty of Social Sciences
KU Leuven Division of Geography and Tourism - Faculty of Science
[Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek -... - Flanders in the USA | Facebook]   [cid:image002.png at 01DB1639.D1F409E0]

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