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

Thu Jan 29 06:50:31 PST 2026

Thanks.

I have updated the gitia post with a couple of questions I need help 
from the committee.

https://gitea.osgeo.org/osgeo/projects-support/issues/12#issuecomment-14200

Specifically:

I have always struggled slightly with licenses. Using Flexurba as an 
example, is this all done now?

License is MIT.
It is listed at 
https://gitlab.kuleuven.be/spatial-networks-lab/research-projects/flexurba/-/blob/main/LICENSE.md
And in GitLab license is listed at MIT License
On https://choosealicense.com/licenses/mit/ it says:
"How to apply this license
Create a text file (typically named LICENSE or LICENSE.txt) in the root 
of your source code and copy the text of the license into the file. 
Replace [year] with the current year and [fullname] with the name (or 
names) of the copyright holders. "
Which is done.
Does anything else need to be done?

We look for a clear contribution policy Included in the Code of Conduct 
- 
https://gitlab.kuleuven.be/spatial-networks-lab/research-projects/flexurba/-/blob/main/code-of-conduct.md. 
Does this need to be a separate document?

  *

    We ask that the project demonstrate collaboration, perhaps with a
    history of bug report or pull requests

Again, help from the committee please.
Celine has submitted most of the issues. Ate Poorthuis has submited one 
fix: |c742db5600| 
<https://gitlab.kuleuven.be/spatial-networks-lab/research-projects/flexurba/-/commit/c742db560080541c473bd26c6579466bd147cdf5>
I don't think there have been any 'Merge requests' (as GitLab calls Pull 
Requests, just to confuse us!)
So are we happy with this?

Thanks!
Nick.

On 27/01/2026 17:55, Angelos Tzotsos via Incubator wrote:
> https://gitea.osgeo.org/osgeo/projects-support/issues/12
>
> On 10/4/24 10:06, Céline Van Migerode via Incubator wrote:
>> 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]
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Incubator mailing list
>> Incubator at lists.osgeo.org
>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/incubator
>
>
-- 
Nick Bearman
+44 (0) 7717745715
nick at nickbearman.com

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