A spatial rough set for extracting the periurban fringe

To date the availability of spatial data is increasing together with techniques and methods adopted in geographical analysis. Despite this tendency, classifying in a sharp way every part of the city is more and more com-plicated. This is due to the growth of city complexity. Rough Set theory may be a useful method to employ in combining great amounts of data in order to build complex knowledge about territory. It represents a different mathemati-cal approach to uncertainty by capturing the indiscernibility. Two different phenomena can be indiscernible in some contexts and classified in the same way when combining available information about them. Several experiences exist in the use of Rough Set theory in data mining, knowledge analysis and approximate pattern classification, but the spatial component lacks in all these research streams. This paper aims to the use of Rough Set methods in geographical analyses. This approach has been applied in a case of study, comparing the results achieved by means of both Map Algebra technique and Spatial Rough set. The study case area, Potenza Province, is particularly suitable for the application of this theory, because it includes 100 municipalities with a different number of inhabitants and morphologic features.