Coherent Open Space Areas - state 2019

In the 2018 Space Report, the open space in Flanders was described as the areas that are located outside the cores and are not occupied by land take. The nuclei were completely ignored in the open space. The undeveloped parts of parks, golf courses and other recreation (as forms of land use that do belong to the land take) were included as part of the open space. The definition of open space in the 2018 Space Report made it possible to situate the open space on a map, but did not allow to describe spatial differences. That is why Iv Space Report 2021 developed a methodology to identify and further classify coherent open space areas based on a number of characteristics, such as the size and integrity of these areas. Coherent Open Space Areas (SORG) are defined as areas larger than 2 ha that are surrounded by important infrastructures (main road, primary road, secondary road, railway, navigable waterway). The cores, the business parks larger than 3 ha, the campsites and built-up plots in ribbons and military domains situated along this infrastructure are not part of these areas. In a SORG, smaller roads, cores, ribbons and scattered buildings can occur. The areas are divided into 5 types that say something about the degree of fragmentation and the location in relation to rural and (peripheral) urban areas. More details about the method used to build the file with related open space areas can be found in the technical report: https://archief.onderzoek.omgeving.vlaanderen.be/Research-2830884