From Qgis to Python: Comparison of Free and Open Tools for Statistical Analysis of Cultural Heritage and Data Representation

Abstract

Abstract. The onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020 changed the approach to work, research, and study. This period has been a wake-up call for public administrations, the private sector, and the academic community, to digitise their data. In Italy, digital and information technologies for the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage, which were an imperative for more than a decade, have been accelerated. This paper aims to collect and to process openly available data on patrimony from OpenStreetMap and the Lombardian Geoportal. The study is divided into two phases: a simple statistical analysis of cultural heritage in Monza is obtained, and the results are presented graphically. Firstly, built-in tools and Python Console of QGIS are evaluated, to filter attributes and add geometrical values to the downloaded material. Secondly, plug-in DataPlotly and an online coding application named Replit are assessed. The results are presented and compared in terms of their flexibility, quality of visual representation, customisation, and simplicity of use. Tools developed through and for QGIS are easy to use and available to everyone. Additionally, coding applications can be integrated for more refined results. This approach fosters interdisciplinarity, bridges the gap between professionals and non-expert users of GIS, and opens a range of opportunities for future collaborations. The citizen, as a mapper, can be involved in the administrative decision-making process, contributing with data collected in situ. Collaboration between these two sides can potentially produce the better for evaluating the contemporary built environment and its undividable part of cultural heritage.

Modeling and Simulation of Distribution Networks with High Renewable Penetration in Open-Source Software: QGIS and OpenDSS

“…This paper reports on the implementation and modification of a software plugin called QGIS2OpenDSS, developed by researchers at the Electric Power & Energy Research Laboratory (EPERLab) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) [24]. This tool creates the OpenDSS network model directly from an open-source geographic information system (QGIS) using PyQGIS, QGIS library for executing Python code [25]. Although limited by its Graphical User Interface (GUI), OpenDSS has been used in several studies, harnessing the functionality of plugins that are capable of automatically scripting the required connection matrices [26].…”

Modeling and Simulation of Distribution Networks with High Renewable Penetration in Open-Source Software: QGIS and OpenDSS

“…This paper reports on the implementation and adaptation of a software plugin called QGIS2OpenDSS, developed by researchers at the Electric Power & Energy Research Laboratory (EPERLab) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) [24]. This tool creates the OpenDSS network model directly from an open-source geographic information system (QGIS) using PyQGIS, QGIS library for executing Python code [25]. Although limited by its Graphical User Interface (GUI), OpenDSS has been used in several studies, harnessing the functionality of plugins that are capable of automatically scripting the required connection matrices [26].…”