The authentic data source for addresses, the CRAB (GIS-VLAANDEREN)

CRAB is the addresses project of the agency for geographical information Flanders. The acronym stands for Central Reference Address File. This is a file with house numbers and street names. In addition, the CRAB also contains the geographical position of the addresses. An xy coordinate is saved for each of the 2.5 million house numbers in Flanders.

Background

The CRAB standard did not appear out of thin air. The partners of GIS Flanders were consulted in advance and the model corresponds to a new national standard (BEST, acronym for BElgian STreets).

The CRAB was created by the Support Centre GIS Flanders and the latter is in charge of managing it and making it available. The CRAB is now being developed into an authentic source of information for address information.

Aim of the CRAB

The aims of the CRAB are:

• To establish a single generic useful standard for definition and coding;
• A single correct file with all the complete addresses (including all the house numbers and street names);
• To integrate the information on the geographical location of addresses.

With a view to achieving the above-mentioned aims, the OC GIS-Flanders developed a scenario in which the CRAB is indirectly updated by the municipal councils.