Spatial Data Analysis with sf and sp in R

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Spatial data analysis involves working with geographic or spatial data, which includes information tied to specific locations on the Earth’s surface.

I. General Spatial Data Analysis Workflow:

1. Read Data:

• Use st_read or other relevant functions to read spatial data.

2. Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA):

• Plot the data using plot to explore its spatial distribution.

3. Perform Spatial Operations:

• Use functions like st_buffer, st_union, and others for spatial analysis.

4. Spatial Joins and Merging:

• Perform spatial joins using st_join or over for sf and sp objects, respectively.

5. Overlay Analysis:

• Conduct overlay analysis using functions like st_intersection for sf and gIntersects for sp.

6. Visualize Results:

• Create visualizations to represent the results of spatial analysis.

7. Convert Between sf and sp:

• Use functions like st_as_sf and as to convert between sf and sp objects.