zonebuilder - Create and Explore Geographic Zoning Systems

Functions, documentation and example data to help divide geographic space into discrete polygons (zones). The package supports new zoning systems that are documented in the accompanying paper, "ClockBoard: A zoning system for urban analysis", by Lovelace et al. (2022) <doi:10.5311/JOSIS.2022.24.172>. The functions are motivated by research into the merits of different zoning systems (Openshaw, 1977) <doi:10.1068/a090169>. A flexible ClockBoard zoning system is provided, which breaks-up space by concentric rings and radial lines emanating from a central point. By default, the diameter of the rings grow according to the triangular number sequence (Ross & Knott, 2019) <doi:10.1080/26375451.2019.1598687> with the first 4 doughnuts (or annuli) measuring 1, 3, 6, and 10 km wide. These annuli are subdivided into equal segments (12 by default), creating the visual impression of a dartboard. Zones are labelled according to distance to the centre and angular distance from North, creating a simple geographic zoning and labelling system useful for visualising geographic phenomena with a clearly demarcated central location such as cities.