Urbanised, suburban and rural Flanders, classification based on statistical sectors — state 2019

Based on the statistical sectors, the Flemish Region is divided into 3 spatial types: urbanised — suburban — rural. The classification is fully automated using a specially developed algorithm, based on a number of spatial variables and whether or not the sectors are located. The spatial variables used are land use, employment density, population density and total number of inhabitants per cluster of sectors. Per spatial variable, a fixed threshold value is set based on a choice by experts, where the threshold values were assessed on their capacity to map known examples of urban, suburban and rural areas in a sufficiently discriminatory manner. For example, in the Space Report, figures are calculated on the basis of this spatial typology. You can find more details about the typological classification method used in the technical report: https://archief-algemeen.omgeving.vlaanderen.be/xmlui/handle/acd/746142