Title: Download and Analyze Spatial Development Data from INKAR
Version: 0.4.3
Description: A lightweight package to download spatial development indicators from the BBSR INKAR (Indikatoren und Karten zur Raum- und Stadtentwicklung) database. It provides a modern interface using 'httr2', robust caching, concurrent API querying for fast spatial dimension lookups, and native geospatial mapping integration.
URL: https://github.com/ofurkancoban/inkaR
BugReports: https://github.com/ofurkancoban/inkaR/issues
License: MIT + file LICENSE
Encoding: UTF-8
LazyData: true
RoxygenNote: 7.3.3
Imports: httr2, jsonlite, tibble, dplyr, rlang, tidyr, utils
Suggests: readxl, testthat (≥ 3.0.0), knitr, rmarkdown, sf, geodata, ggplot2, httptest2
VignetteBuilder: knitr
Depends: R (≥ 4.1.0)
Config/testthat/edition: 3
NeedsCompilation: no
Packaged: 2026-03-09 14:18:21 UTC; ofurkancoban
Author: Omer Furkan Coban ORCID iD [aut, cre]
Maintainer: Omer Furkan Coban <oemer.furkan.coban@uni-oldenburg.de>
Repository: CRAN
Date/Publication: 2026-03-13 13:10:08 UTC

inkaR: Access the INKAR Database of the BBSR

Description

The inkaR package provides a user-friendly interface to access, search, and download statistical indicators from the INKAR (Indikatoren und Karten zur Raum- und Stadtentwicklung) database provided by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR).

Main Functions

Usage Workflow

  1. Explore: Use view_indicators() to find the Shortname (e.g., "001") or M_ID of the desired indicator.

  2. Download: Use get_inkar_data("001", level="KRE", year=2021) or ranges (year=2010:2020) to fetch the data.

  3. Export: Add csv = TRUE to get_inkar_data to save the result immediately.

Author(s)

Maintainer: Omer Furkan Coban oemer.furkan.coban@uni-oldenburg.de (ORCID)

See Also

Useful links:

Examples

if (interactive()) {
  # 1. View available indicators (German)
  view_indicators()

  # 2. View in English
  view_indicators("en")
}


  # 3. Search for "GDP" (Bruttoinlandsprodukt)
  search_indicators("GDP", lang = "en")

  # 4. Download data for GDP (011) for Districts (KRE)
  #    Note: You can use Shortnames ("011"), numeric M_IDs (11), or simple codes ("bip")
  data <- get_inkar_data("011", level = "KRE", year = 2021, lang = "de", csv = FALSE)

  # 5. Download and save directly as CSV
  get_inkar_data("011", csv = TRUE, export_dir = tempdir())

  # 6. Download data for a year range
  get_inkar_data("011", level = "KRE", year = 2010:2020)

Clear INKAR Cache

Description

Clears the persistent disk cache used for API responses (like time reference metadata).

Usage

clear_inkar_cache()

Value

No return value, called for side effects.

Get Available Geographies or Region List

Description

Retrieves a list of available spatial levels (if geography is NULL) or a list of regions for a specific level (e.g., "KRE").

Usage

get_geographies(geography = NULL)

Arguments

geography

Character. Spatial level code (e.g. "KRE"). If NULL, returns all levels.

Value

A data frame with ID and Name.

List Available Indicators

Description

Returns a data frame of available indicators with bilingual support.

Usage

get_indicators(lang = c("de", "en"))

Arguments

lang

Language code: "de" (German) or "en" (English).

Value

A tibble containing indicator IDs, names, and descriptions.

Download Data from INKAR

Description

Retrieves statistical data for a given variable and spatial level. Automatically handles time reference lookup.

Usage

get_inkar_data(
  variable,
  level = "KRE",
  year = NULL,
  lang = c("de", "en"),
  format = c("long", "wide"),
  csv = FALSE,
  export_dir = NULL
)

Arguments

variable

Character. The indicator ID (Shortname), e.g., "011".

level

Character. Spatial level code (e.g., "KRE" for Kreise).

year

Integer/Character vector. Specific year (e.g., 2021) or range (e.g., 2010:2020). If NULL, fetches all available years.

lang

Character. "de" (default) for German column names, "en" for English.

format

Character. "long" (default) for tidy format, "wide" for years as columns.

csv

Logical. If TRUE, saves the data to a CSV file in the directory specified by export_dir.

export_dir

Character. Directory to save the CSV file if csv = TRUE. If NULL (default), it saves to the current working directory (".").

Value

A tibble containing the data.

INKAR Indicators Metadata

Description

A comprehensive list of available indicators from the INKAR database. This dataset is used to lookup indicator IDs, names, and descriptions.

Usage

indicators

Format

A data frame with the following columns:

ID

Short identifier (e.g., "001")

M_ID

Numeric internal ID used by API

Name_DE

German name of the indicator

Name_EN

English name (translated or placeholder)

Description_DE

Detailed German description

Theme

Group/Domain of the indicator

Active

Logical. TRUE if verified as active in the API

Algorithmus

Algorithm used (if any)

Anmerkungen

Notes in German

Anmerkungen_EN

Notes in English

Gemeinden

Availability for Municipalities

Kreise

Availability for Districts

Statistische Grundlagen

Statistical basis (DE)

Stat_Grund_EN

Statistical basis (EN)

Unit_DE

Unit of measurement (DE)

Unit_EN

Unit of measurement (EN)

Source

https://www.inkar.de/

Download Data from INKAR (Alias)

Description

A convenient alias for get_inkar_data(). Call inkaR("011") to download directly, or call inkaR() with no arguments in an interactive session to open a searchable menu.

Usage

inkaR(variable = NULL, level = NULL, ...)

Arguments

variable

Character. Indicator ID, shortname, or partial name. If NULL (default), opens an interactive selection menu (interactive sessions only).

level

Character. Spatial level code (e.g., "KRE" for Kreise). If NULL and variable is also NULL, an interactive level menu is shown.

...

Additional arguments passed to get_inkar_data(), such as year, lang, format, or csv.

Value

A tibble containing the downloaded data, or NULL if selection was cancelled.

Examples

if (interactive()) {
  df <- inkaR()  # opens interactive menu
}


  df <- inkaR("bip", level = "KRE", year = 2021)
  df <- inkaR("Bruttoinlandsprodukt", level = "KRE")

Plot INKAR Data on German Maps

Description

Automatically projects regional INKAR data onto administrative boundaries of Germany using the geodata and sf packages. Supports Kreise (KRE) and Bundesländer (BLD) levels.

Usage

plot_inkar(data, year = NULL)

Arguments

data

A data frame returned by get_inkar_data().

year

Integer/Character. If the data contains multiple years, specify which year to plot. If NULL and multiple years exist, the most recent year is plotted.

Value

A ggplot2 object displaying the mapped data.

Search Indicators and Print Results

Description

Search for indicators by keyword. Prints a formatted table and invisibly returns the matches so you can copy the ID for use in inkaR().

Usage

search_indicators(pattern, lang = c("de", "en"))

Arguments

pattern

Text to search in names and descriptions.

lang

Language to search in ("de" or "en").

Value

A filtered tibble of indicators (invisibly).

Interactively Select an Indicator

Description

Opens a GUI selection list (e.g., in RStudio) to browse and pick an indicator. For code-based workflows, use inkaR("name") or search_indicators() instead.

Usage

select_indicator(pattern = NULL, lang = c("de", "en"))

Arguments

pattern

Optional character. Pre-filter the list by a keyword or regex. If NULL (default), the full indicator list is shown.

lang

Language for names: "de" (default) or "en".

Value

Character. The selected indicator ID, or NULL if cancelled.

Interactively Select a Spatial Level

Description

Provides an interactive console menu to choose an INKAR spatial level. If a variable ID is provided, it probes the live API to find which levels actually have data for that indicator.

Usage

select_level(variable = NULL)

Arguments

variable

Optional character. The indicator ID to probe available levels.

Value

Character. The selected level ID, e.g., "KRE".

View Indicators in RStudio Viewer

Description

Opens the available indicators in the RStudio data viewer for easy filtering and searching.

Usage

view_indicators(lang = c("de", "en"))

Arguments

lang

Language code: "de" (German) or "en" (English).

Value

Invokes View() on the data frame.