Exploring Centrality Measures
Unlocking accessibility and service potential
The second webinar in PoliRuralPlus’ technical series introduced participants to centrality measures - a method to quantify how central or accessible locations are relative to key features such as infrastructure, population, or services. Runar Bergheim (Asplan Viak) highlighted how these measures support evidence-based decision-making, enabling planners to identify underserved areas, assess service distribution, and explore market opportunities.
A Practical, open-source approach
Runar presented an open-source Python-based tool built on GDAL/OGR libraries, capable of processing large datasets such as OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. The workflow involves:
- Preprocessing – importing and cleaning vector or raster data.
- Rasterization – transforming data into a grid system.
- Computation – generating centrality measures that consider both local and neighboring cells.
- Visualization – exporting outputs (GeoTIFF, NetCDF) for GIS applications.
The demonstration used European OSM data to map restaurant density and accessibility- an example easily extended to critical services like healthcare or emergency response.
Empowering planning through data
Participants learned that stacking multiple centrality layers - population, services, transport - can yield multi-dimensional insights into regional accessibility and service equity. Such data-driven approaches strengthen policy foresight and strategic investment decisions, aligning with PoliRuralPlus goals to bridge rural-urban divides through smart spatial analytics.
Accessible and extensible
While the backend tool caters to advanced GIS users, processed outputs can be used in the JackDaw platform without coding skills, making the results widely usable by planners, policymakers, and rural stakeholders. The project team confirmed the tool’s availability upon request, with ongoing plans for structured support and training.
Real-world impact
Use cases discussed included:
- Food distribution logistics and public service accessibility in rural areas.
- Identifying priority zones for infrastructure or community investment.
- Supporting Regional Action Plan (RAP) development through evidence-based insights.
Looking ahead
The session concluded with an open Q&A, affirming the relevance of centrality analysis for improving regional planning efficiency, inclusivity, and sustainability. Participants were invited to explore applications within PoliRuralPlus pilot regions and to contribute ideas for future webinars.